


Words Of Change

by Helplessdreamer, thedaysofmiss



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Love, Older Man/Younger Woman, Slow Burn, Snowells, westallen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 56,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23926282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helplessdreamer/pseuds/Helplessdreamer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedaysofmiss/pseuds/thedaysofmiss
Summary: What happens when fate connects two at first sight completely different people...
Relationships: Caitlin Snow & Earth-19 Harrison "HR" Wells, Caitlin Snow & Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Caitlin Snow/Earth-19 Harrison "HR" Wells, Caitlin Snow/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, caitlin/harrison, hr/caitlin
Comments: 94
Kudos: 83





	1. Signing That Went Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I would like to say that I realized that dreams are coming true sometimes. Until now, I thought I could only dream of writing snowells with my best friend, and now, well, that actually happened.  
> I’m beyond proud and happy to be able to write these lovelies with such an amazing and creative person.
> 
> This is our first collab, first HR x Caitlin try for both of us and we are doing our best, so we hope it will turn out good.

A day off work is always linked to some relaxation. Getting out with friends or spending time at home, gathering much-needed energy that helps people deal with more tough days. It was one of those for Caitlin Snow, as on this very sunny Saturday afternoon she found herself walking at the downtown of Central City with her best friend, Iris.

Two things that were rare for her.

First, being a doctor at the city’s hospital didn’t allow her to have much spare time, especially a whole day like today. Last 18 months she was giving all of her at work, as she didn’t have anything better to do than that. She was taking most of the night shifts and she was politely offering to finish some of her colleagues' work so that they could go back home to their loved ones. If being honest here, nothing at this point was making her more complete than helping people. So, she never complained about it.

It was her absolute dream to follow this job, and she spent her teenage years studying hard in order to get that scholarship in Central City’s university, and utterly become a doctor once she graduates from there.

She did it. All those late nights next to her physics and chemistry books were worth it. If someone could confirm that for her, that would be her 30-year-old self, who was more than pleased for what she was doing ever since she took the Hippocratic oath. It was making her complete and she could always forget any kind of problems she was dealing with.

The second had to do with her actually getting out of her home on a free day. Caitlin was a single woman, not out of choice though. It seems like she wasn’t this lucky in love as she originally thought so.

After a few months of doing her practice in the hospital, Caitlin met young, actually two years older than her, doctor of pathology, Ronnie, as he wanted to be called instead of his full name that was written on the card on his white robe ‘Ronald’.

Ronnie Raymond was a pretty man, he was treating her nice, they were having fun and both of them could say that they were in love. She wasn’t seeking more than what he was offering to her and she was happy with her life.

She had everything that a normal woman could ask for, a steady job, good friends, and a nice boyfriend by her side. And she really liked him, she couldn’t lie. After a year of them being a couple, he made the big step. He asked her to marry him, and she didn’t say no. She felt like this was the best moment of all. Someone loved her this much, that he wanted to spend all his years with her. It wasn’t easy to realize.

Months passed and Caitlin and her fiancée were never happier. They were talking about a honeymoon, Ronnie was rooting for Italy, but Caitlin’s dreamy destination was Tahiti. She always wanted to go there with the love of her life, drink cocktails, and enjoy on the beach, while they celebrate the beginning of their marriage. Of course, he agreed with her at the end. He could never say ‘No’ to her, he was even teasing her that was her superpower.

They had the date booked, the perfect place for the ceremony, wedding invitations were sent to all their friends and family, almost everything was ready… although, there was one problem.

She couldn’t find the perfect wedding dress she wanted. She’d almost given up, when her best friend and soon her maid of honor Iris woke her up one morning, screaming how she found it. Caitlin almost jumped from the bed and woke Ronnie in the process as she was trying to find something to wear.

“I have to go, I’ll see you at the lunch!” she said and kissed him in a hurry before she left the room. The man just laughed at her excitement and glanced at the clock, realizing it’s time for him to start getting ready for work.

“Iris this is it!” Caitlin was looking at her reflection in the mirror, admiring the beautiful white dress. She found it, just a month before the big event, how lucky she could be. Now everything is going to be perfect.

She was supposed to work the night shift that day, but she knew that Ronnie was already there, so she decided to meet him at his lunch break and tell him the great news. But, the moment she walked inside the building, she could feel that something was wrong.

“Hey Kara, do you know where is Ronnie?” she asked one of her friends and colleagues with a smile, but her face worried her.

“Cait, I have to tell you something”, the other girl was serious and almost on the verge of tears.

-“No, no, no, this is a joke and it’s not funny! Guys, please tell me this is some horrible joke, tell me that he is all right.” Caitlin was laughing and crying at the same time, thinking how this can’t be happening.

“I’m so sorry Caitlin, it was the drunk driver and…” her friend had a hard time explaining what happened because Caitlin was looking at her with hope in her eyes, the hope that she will tell her that he survived, that he’s gonna be okay. “He died immediately. He didn’t suffer.”

All those sent wedding invitations, her perfect wedding dress… their future together, it’s all gone now. Everything died with Ronnie. At least that’s how Caitlin felt.

After the accident Caitlin was some kind of living ghost. She had lost herself, her laughter, her will to work, and basically all of the stuff that were making her who she was. She spent a while at home, and she wasn’t leaving the couch unless it was something important.

Iris wanted to be by her side during this hardship and so did she. At first, she offered her to stay at her home, in order for her not to be alone but Caitlin declined. Iris had her own life, she thought there was no reason for her shoulder to become wet from all the tears she would shed over Ronnie’s very unfair and tragic death. But her friend could be described as stubborn, and maybe she didn’t spend nights comforting Caitlin, but she was calling her many times per day, just to check on her and listen to her voice.

And like that, time passed. Caitlin, after ten days of complete isolation at her home, or _their_ home as they were calling it back in the day, decided that it was time for her to get back at work, and so she did.

 _Things like that happen,_ that was what she was trying to tell herself all this time in order to stand back on her legs and find her lost power. The real deal was what she would do once he was gone.

Revisiting the hospital again, the place she met him and shared a lot of memories together, she knew it would break her again, but her best friend tried to limit Caitlin’s heartbreak by adapting her most silly self and make her laugh as much as she could out of work hours.

Time was passing and just because there were no walks by the harbor or dinner dates and other little stuff she and Ronnie used to do, she focused on her work and in a way that was unhealthy for her, as Iris was keeping telling her, sometimes sounding like a broken record.

She was declining every suggestion her friend was making for an outgoing, with the excuse that she was busy and overwhelmed with her doctor’s duties, but deep down she was too afraid that everything different and out of ordinary would remind her of her lost love. And she felt like somehow, she wouldn’t honor him enough.

Then again, she was a young, beautiful woman with a whole future ahead and the only way to make peace with it was to actually move on and keep him in her heart, like a great memory.

But today was a little different. She had a day off, and Iris knew that very well, so she really had no excuse.

It was a rare opportunity for her to sleep a little longer, so she woke up around 10 am, and just when she was drinking coffee, her phone buzzed, showing her friend’s smiley face there.

“Get ready, you are going out with me today.” Iris’s voice was cheerful, maybe even more than usual.

“Iris, I don’t…”

“Listen, it’s nothing you won’t like, I promise, it’s just a book signing in that bookstore near Jitters.” When Caitlin got quiet Iris continued “Come on Cait, I really want to go but I don’t want to do it alone.”

“Since when you are so passionate about books?” Iris was working as a reporter for CCPN, she was undoubtedly one of the finest, and although Caitlin knew that she is smart and educated, she never remembered her being this excited about some book signing and it was really weird.

“Well, maybe since the guest is really cute and my favorite writer, I don’t know if you heard about him, HR Wells.”

Caitlin almost chocked on her coffee. Of course she knew who he was, in fact, she‘s got every single book he wrote. It was an understatement to say that she was a fan. But she always kept that in secret. In fact, the only person who knew about her ‘obsession’ was Ronnie, since she couldn’t hide all the books when they moved in together.

And the reason why she was hiding that from everyone, even from her best friend was that she didn’t want people to think that she is just another woman, drooling over a handsome writer. She appreciated his talent, his passion, how he gave his heart and soul in his books, long before she found out how he looks.

“Hellooo, Caitlin are you there?” she completely forgot that Iris asked her a question and she didn’t give her the answer.

“Yes, I’ve heard about him, okay, I’ll get ready.” She hangs up her phone and moved to the bookshelf. She already knew which book she’s going to take for him to sign. The one he wrote a couple of years ago, the one that touched her the most.

They say that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but Caitlin wondered how he was because his words really found the way to her heart. Well, she’ll find out soon…

Like that, she was walking on the pavement next to the city’s most famous road, heading to that bookstore iris told her about.

She was going out for necessary stuff, or the drug store, maybe some shopping after an extensive effort from her friend’s side. Sometimes, she was running by the beach to keep fit, once in a week if that was possible with her schedule, not that she needed it.

Caitlin was a doctor though, so she acknowledged the importance of exercise in her routine. She was in an excellent shape, her body was admirable at least. She was quite tall for a woman, with great analogies and she couldn’t tell she had any problem with how she looked. She was confident enough with her physical appearance, but she had always been modest about it.

As a woman, she’s spent big part of her life getting herself educated. What she had realized is that people around aren’t attractive only with looks, but with states of mind, beliefs and strong words. And maybe that was what won her in that writer they were about to visit, the power of the words. How feelings could occupy her heart with simple phrases.

“Hey, I’ve brought with me two books for Wells to sign for us. I purchased _“Separated lives”_ yesterday for this exact purpose!” Iris was still in the excited mode she was when she first talked with her on the phone.

Iris was quite a happy person, if you will. She was kind, humble and caring, but comparing to Caitlin, she had another, more bright attitude in things. She was always able to make her laugh, even in the darkest of days and she was standing by her as great listener and problem solver in any kind of difficulty. In her dictionary, that was the synonym of friendship.

And she couldn’t appreciate more her presence in her life since their university days. She was quite lucky that they didn’t have to be apart after graduation.

“I think I’ll pass, I don’t pretty much like that one.” Caitlin said and at the same time she was pulling something out of her bag.

“What?” Iris asked a bit stunned with her answer.

“I’ve read it, and it didn’t live up to my expectations.” Her reply came straight and raw while she held the item she retrieved from her bag. “I’ll have this one signed, I think it’s my personal favorite. I have read it a few times by now.”

 _“Hard love..”,_ Iris read the title of the book. “but hey, I thought you said you just know Wells, not actually read his books like that.” She continued, saying her thought out loud.

“Okay, maybe I’ve read all of his work, not a big deal.” Caitlin tried to sound a bit cool about it.

“Hmm, whatever, I can’t wait to have this signed by him!”

Walking a few meters more, having just passed Jitters, a coffee shop that they were hanging at occasionally, but grabbing their usual coffee and cinnamon rolls every day, the bookstore in search could be seen.

“That’s the one!” Iris exclaimed.

They entered the bookstore, and Caitlin was a bit surprised that it was actually full already. There were a few men, but the visitors were mostly women. From teenage girls, all the way to the ladies in their 60s, and they were all holding a book, waiting for the man to show up.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect that there’d be so many people like Stephen King is coming.” Caitlin chuckled a bit and then her friend subtly pointed towards the middle of the room.

“Well Cait, Stephen King certainly doesn’t look like that.” She turned her head to look at the table that was set and the writer himself there, preparing for the reading some of the parts from his newest book.

Caitlin couldn’t deny that he was indeed handsome, and how she could see from afar, he had a nice face too. He was talking with a lady who owned the bookstore, he was smiling and she could swear that he has dimples too, but she wasn’t sure because of the distance. Plus, his dark maroon jacket and white dress shirt with perfectly tamed hair proved that he had a style too.

Still, she didn’t like the way most of the visitors were just watching him. Half of them probably bought the book just so he could sign it and give them the chance to say ‘Look, I have his autograph!’ not because they cared what he wrote. It was making her angry how people can be so shallow sometimes.

In some weird way, all that reminded her of men looking at women’s bodies like they are a piece of meat, and she would say the same was happening here, only the roles were reversed. That’s the main reason why she was quiet about her passion for Wells’ work. She didn’t want to be categorized as one of them.

“I’ll try to find a place somewhere in the front, you coming with me?” Iris asked and Caitlin declined.

“No thanks, I’ll be fine here.” She smiled politely and Iris nodded so they agreed to meet when the signing starts before she left.

“Hello, ladies, and few of you gentlemen.” The man started and waved at the men who were in there, and immediately caused the laughter. “Thank you for coming, and I gotta say, you all look great today.”

Caitlin found the perfect place in the very back of the large room, and leaning a bit on the wall, decided to focus and try to enjoy this as much as she could. The man started reading, and right away she noticed that he has a nice voice too. It was an important thing, and she liked it.

 _“Separated lives”_ definitely wasn’t her favorite, but with the way he was reading it, it was better than she remembered. Maybe it was because he knows how to express the emotions he felt when he was creating it, or because the words were coming out of someone else’s mouth instead of her silent reading… she didn’t know, but it was definitely good.

Like every other book he wrote, this one had the juicy parts too, and he always knew the perfect way to make it hot and romantic, without sounding cheap, raw, and dirty. But Caitlin didn’t actually expect him reading those parts out loud, at the event like this.

But it seemed like the rest of the audience was thrilled with it. Some of them had their phones recording, some were sighing, shortly, they all confirmed her earlier thoughts.

And then she noticed him smirking and sending flirty looks every once in a while. _Oh, he is a flirt too,_ she thought and she was unimpressed. But between all that, she could see him glancing at his phone a few times, and almost unnoticeable frowning.

Whatever he saw on the screen of his phone, he didn’t like it, she could tell.

He finished the reading, and he thanked politely before he moved to another table that was set for signing. She saw Iris approaching, and they proceeded to stand in the line.

“Okay, something weird just happened, and I mean, really weird,” Iris whispered to her, careful not to do it too loud and when Caitlin gave her questioned look, she continued. “A woman that was sitting next to me, I accidentally looked at her phone, and she wrote the message ‘ _I want you.’_ And the receiver was HR! But I don’t think he knows her, because he didn’t answer and I could see that she is disappointed, angry or both.” She made a disgusted look on her face before she finished “I mean, how weird is that? And kinda creepy.”

“Thank God I wasn’t there to see that, it was more than enough to see and hear their reactions at certain parts of the book”, was all that Caitlin answered because honestly, she didn’t know what to say to that. Maybe that woman knows him. Maybe that wasn’t his phone number at all. Or maybe he is like that, flirting and chatting with strangers. Or it’s none of that, she couldn’t possibly know. But she did think that maybe seeing that message on his phone made him frown…

As they were coming closer, they could see and hear him talking with the others who gave him the book to sign. He was nice, he was smiling, and he was a little too flirty for her taste, but she decided to wait with her judgment until she actually meets him.

Iris was first and she was like a little girl who met her idol.

“Hi, I’m so happy to finally meet you.” She started and told him her name when he asked her. It seemed like he had something like prepared speech/conversation for this kind of things, but somehow he made everyone feel special even though he was repeating almost the same words to all of them.

“Here you go Iris, and thank you for coming.” He offered her the book, smiling widely.

“I’m sorry, I know this is signing, but, can we take a photo?” Iris tried, not actually believing that he will accept, but he did it almost immediately and Caitlin chuckled, thinking how she will tease Iris forever about this.

She was just about to give him the book, when he turned from Iris and looked her straight in the eyes.

“Hello, where do I sign?” he was still holding her gaze, the smirk was back and he had the pen in his hand, like he was waiting for her to give him something to sign it.

 _What the hell? Like he expects me to ask him to sign my forearm or my bra,_ Caitlin thought and got irritated instantly. She placed the book in front of him and answered sharply.

“The book Mr. Wells, and please don’t bother to charm me.” But instead of getting angry, humiliated or just annoyed, he smiled even more and stared at her for a few seconds “Of course, I apologize.” And then he noticed the book she gave him “ _Hard love_ , huh?”

“Yes, I like it way more than the ‘ _Separated lives’_ Caitlin was honest like always.

He didn’t ask her anything else except for her name and then he returned the signed book to her.

“It was nice meeting you Caitlin Snow.” She felt a little bit weird, she was the only one being actually cold to him, and he was looking at her like he is fascinated. She offered him just small “Thanks” and proceeded to join Iris.

“Miss Snow, why you don’t like ‘ _Separated lives’?_ ”, she could hear him asking her while another woman was waiting in front of him.

“First of all, too much drama”, she said, not waiting for his answer and walked away with stunned Iris. But she didn’t see him still staring at the place she was standing with the same fascinated look and the same smile.

He would probably stay like that for a while, but the woman in front of him cleared her throat and he quickly apologized before returning to his duty.

Once Caitlin and iris were out of the bookstore, taking their usual way back home, the latter couldn’t help but ask, “Caitlin?”

“Yeah?”

“What the hell was that?”

“What do you me- oh, you mean with Wells?” Caitlin played fool at the start and then tried to save it somehow.

“Uh-huh,” Iris nodded, “for a second, I thought you are going to punch him or something.”

“I was just being honest. All those ladies in there were all over him, you saw it yourself, you included. And he enjoyed it. I’m not interested to flirt with a writer that I happen to admire, that’s all.” Caitlin said everything almost in one breath, “And like I told you before, I didn’t like ‘ _Separated lives’_. She finished and Iris was staring at her.

“Okay, I wasn’t that bad”, was the only thing Iris answered, and they both burst out laughing, remembering her fangirling from a few minutes ago.

“Noo, at all, ‘Mr. Wells, can we take a photo?’” Caitlin mimicked her and Iris pulled out her phone, looking at the said photo.

“Shut up, I’m gonna frame this.”

Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea, Caitlin thought. Yes, she got annoyed a bit, but she actually got out and even had some fun and laughter. She won’t forget to thank Iris for this.

That night, after a 20-minute drive, HR opened the door of his spacious loft, located on the highest floor of a flat at one of Central City’s nice neighborhoods.

Discarding his shoes and placing them on the small shelf next to the entrance, he makes his way to the kitchen. Grabbing a glass, he poured himself a rich amount of bourbon and took a sip, letting it slide slowly down his throat, indicating how much he needed this alcoholic beverage.

Walking towards the large window that overlooked the city, he leaned on the wall, and enjoyed the rest of the liquid. He could see the night lights, coming from street lamps, cars and open houses. Some lone people walking on the sidewalk, an old man walking his dog out, all of them with a different story to tell. 

He is really good at telling stories himself, that‘s why he could be described as ‘famous writer’.

Since he was young, he was the kid that was better in art lessons. Mathematics and science wasn’t really his thing. Something was telling him that his future would be around the art world and he liked that idea.

Maybe it was rare for a teenage boy, but back in the day, he was writing down his thoughts daily, because he had that inner need to express his feelings, even if it was on a piece of paper.

When he was 17, he had his high school’s entry in a short story competition. And although he didn’t want to participate at first, being afraid of failing dramatically, the result – taking the first award, rewarded his teacher’s words and made him believe that he indeed had some talent in writing.

After attending a few language courses, in order to improve his vocabulary, grammar and syntax, he put together all of his thoughts and released his very first book. The positive reviews it received afterwards made him find his purpose. He is going to be a writer. And it made him feel complete.

Years passed, many more books followed since then, some being a huge success, some others not so. Many meetings with publishers, travels around the world promoting his most recent work, signings at the bookstores, just like today, which left him thinking…

And he was thinking about that Caitlin Snow, who was so different than all those women who came in that bookstore today. She actually commented sincerely on his book, admitting straightly like that that she didn’t enjoy it because _‘it had too much drama’_ as she exactly said.

 _‘Separated lives’_ was a book written in a tough for him period of time- his divorce, hence the name of it. His emotional baggage entered a story that was destined to have a happy middle and ending, as his work was somehow having a certain structure.

The truth was that he struggled writing this one, as he lost his inspiration halfway and it was more forced than actually written with his usual enjoyment like previous books in front of the keyboard of his Macbook.

The failure of a marriage wasn’t an easy thing to deal with and it had affected him in many aspects of his life. This last year, he spent in trying to find himself and fill the gaps that this unfortunate event created in him.

Things between him and his wife haven’t been this great for a while before the break-up. If he could ask himself, he wasn’t sure what went wrong. It was like the love faded just like that. Two people stopped having the need to share a bed, or eat together and do whatever a married couple does. He couldn’t explain it.

He tried to find his mistake, whatever that was, since he knew that when something doesn’t work between a couple, the blame isn’t one-sided. His romance novels taught him that very well. He never figured what had gone wrong, and one day he woke up and checked his mail, finding among a few other work related letters, an envelope with divorce papers. And in that moment he knew everything was over.

He didn’t move on ever since, not being ready for a relationship, knowing he failed the most important one he had formed in his life. He might was flirting with the so called ‘fan’ ladies who were coming to meet him, but he never tried to go further than that, he didn’t feel like it. These women were just all over him, typical for men with power, even though in his case was being a well-known author.

And then, there was this girl today, that dragged his attention with her words. He deep inside knew that his book had defects and she really showed up telling him with no hesitation that she didn’t like it. He respected her for that.

The memory of her made him smile a bit, looking down at his glass. If only he could meet her again. _Impossible_ , he thought.

Who knows, maybe fate does better…

To be continued...


	2. Second Chance

The weekend and her chance to relax a bit from all duties were gone before she could blink, and pleasant natural waking up was replaced with the annoying sound of her alarm clock once again. She wasn’t much of a sleeper, always waking up early as she had some kind of every day’s schedule, but in the past year and a half she was working more, sometimes even double shifts just to occupy her mind, so when she had the chance, she used it to rest well and sleep longer.

Caitlin struggled to open her eyes. The curtains were opened, so she was directly exposed to the sun, making the task even harder. She hid her face under the covers, but that didn’t last long because the alarm beeped again. Giving up, she moved the covers aside and turned off the annoying device that informed her it was 7:06.

Stretching in a queen-sized bed, she sighed. She remembered how all this used to look when her fiancée was still alive. They would spend at least 15 minutes in bed before any of them actually gets up. Either cuddling, talking about something random, or he was just teasing her, not letting go of her…

The alarm just started beeping again when Caitlin almost angrily shut it down. Why she even set it to ring every 3 minutes when she was always waking up at the first sign of the noise. Leaving the memories that came once again to her, she left the bed and her feet landed on the soft carpet.

Like every morning her first destination was the bathroom, as splashing water on her face always succeeded in waking her up completely. She rubs her arms while she was walking. The warm April weather obviously fooled her, she thought, realizing that the thin, short summer pajama wasn’t the good idea yet since the mornings were still chilly.

She chooses to wear her fluffy warm robe instead of the black silky one that hanged in the bathroom and proceeded to brush her teeth and do her morning skin routine. A small trace of black circles could be seen under her eyes, but it was nothing she couldn’t cover, Caitlin thought and tied her hair in a ponytail.

She moved on to prepare the pot for the coffee. On her way to the kitchen, she spotted the book on the coffee table. It was the one that she chose for signing. She remembered coming home that day and leaving it there. Odd for her since she was known as a perfectionist and everything had to be at its place. But she practically spent Sunday in her bed with a laptop, watching old movies, so it was obvious that she somehow forgot.

What was even stranger is that she didn’t even check the dedication he wrote for her. Who knows, after her attitude, maybe it _says “For Caitlin Snow, cold-hearted bitch.”_ or maybe it doesn’t even have any dedication, she thought and brought it to the kitchen table, with the intention to find out after she finishes the coffee.

After the small sound that was indicating the coffee was ready, she poured it in the big cup and took a few seconds to warm up her hands with the slowly heating ceramic. She pulled the robe tighter around herself and took a sip of the coffee, once again confirming that she didn’t improve her skills in that field. It wasn’t completely gross, but still, it was far from good. Well, it’ll have to do until the time for jitters comes.

When she opened the book, she immediately noticed the text written with ink on the first page.

_For Caitlin Snow,_

_I admire your fierce honesty._

_And I feel that more ways for you to surprise me are yet to come._

_HR Wells_

She was staring at the note and reread it in her head 7 times at least. Not only that there was a note, but it was actually…lovely. And pretty long, she guessed, thinking how writers were usually leaving only the name of the person and their autograph, but then again maybe she was wrong about that.

Either way, the words he wrote left her in thoughts. She remembered her sharp response to his charming smile and flirty voice. She doesn’t regret it, she didn’t like that way of communication from someone she knows neither from the man she just met. But when she ‘snapped’ at him, she wasn’t even sure what she expected… maybe she thought he will get annoyed, or humiliated that she basically told him that his charm isn’t working. Caitlin had no answer.

But what she definitely didn’t expect is that he was looking differently at her from the moment she did that. Like he completely changed his whole behavior, apologized and begin signing her book. And his eyes, she wasn’t an expert at reading people, but he seemed so intrigued, like he was staring at some kind of puzzle he didn’t know to solve. He almost seemed fascinated. And she couldn’t figure out why.

And now, reading his note for her two days later, she found her answer. At least part of the answer. He said that he’s admiring her. Her honesty precisely, but that was an even bigger compliment for her. Maybe he’s not like she thought he is, maybe he doesn’t actually enjoy all the affection he gets but only accepts it as the part of the weight his public job is bringing.

Still, 2 minutes talk and a few words he wrote for her can’t give away much about a person’s real nature. You need to know someone much better to be able to form a real opinion about him. And the truth was that she didn’t know HR Wells. And the chance of actually knowing him like that was equal to zero, she thought, trying to convince herself to just let it go and not think too much about the book, writer or note.

But before she placed the _‘Hard love’_ back to the shelf, she opened it again and read the note one more time, even though she remembered every word.

She could be wrong, but his _‘…yet to come’_ sounds somehow so sure, so convinced...like he already knows that they will meet again. And then she caught herself doing something she didn’t do in a long time – imagining. Imagining how she would actually love to meet this strange, enigmatic man again.

Maybe she wanted to figure him out because she was always seeking the truth, or just to meet the real him. She wasn’t sure why, but what she was sure is that she was interested to know more about Harrison Wells.

But then she glanced at her clock and after seeing that it was already 8 changed back to her cold mode once again and finally let go of the book.

Standing in front of her closet, she quickly picked dark mahogany blouse and simple black pants accompanied with a coffee-colored blazer. She loved simple and elegant, and as she was working as a doctor, some kind of dress code was even more important.

Not that she was ever interested in showing more than she should.

Proceeding to the smaller mirror in her bedroom, she loosed her hair from the ponytail and decided to curl it just a little bit. After a few skilled moves with the curling iron and the minimum touch of her makeup, she was ready. And even with almost no effort, she looked stunning at least.

She was sitting at the small chair next to the front door as she was slipping on her flats, and her eyes drifted off to her collection of the books, once again thinking of the possibility to meet this man in the city of a few millions of people.

She stood up, grabbed her bag and keys, and shook her head “Don’t do that Caitlin, don’t.” before she left.

On the other side of the town a bit later, a dark-haired, lean figure sleeps off his last few minutes.

In the comfort of his large bed, half-covered with grey sheets, HR could be found. The room was having enough light, coming from the window at the left of the bed, the curtains in front of it not doing exactly their job, as they weren’t fully closed. Actually, they were always like that, as he was thinking that if ever the alarm clock wasn’t set, or its sound wasn’t enough to wake him up, the almost blinding light to his sensitive morning eyelids would do.

This morning though, it wasn’t of the latter. As his digital alarm changed from 09:59 to 10:00, the characteristic beep could be heard. With his senses coming back at every passing second, he rubbed his eyes. The disturbing sound wasn’t faltering any, so he finally opened his eyes and turned to his side and tapped the button in order to close it. He let out a groan in low decibels and run his hand through his hair that was messy from his sleep.

He couldn’t be described as a morning person, no, but back in the day he could. When he was living with his wife things were different. With her being a teacher in a primary school, the couple wasn’t sleeping much. The alarm was always set at 7 am on her working days, and he preferred to wake up with her, rather than each of them having breakfast on his own and then proceed to their days. So, they were opening their eyes together, and sometimes after some cuddling, they were deciding on who will go to the kitchen to prepare the first meal of the day. It was mostly him though, thinking of the tough day she had to deal with, when, most of the days, he would be at home sitting in front of his 15’’ screen, writing some part of the novel he was currently working on. He had always thought that he was spoiling her, calling himself a “house lady”, but he was enjoying that much.

And there were so many moments in which in the middle of cleaning, or cooking, an idea was popping up and then he was running like crazy in the loft in order to write it down.

After their breakup though, he found himself waking up at 7 am for a month, being used to this ritual. It was taking him a while to realize that she wasn’t next to him on the bed because she was in the bathroom, but because they took their own ways and his wedding ring, that he still was wearing somehow, didn’t have meaning, not anymore. He gradually went back to his single-man habits, and apparently, being on his feet at 7 am wasn’t one of them. It might was hard, having to let all of it go, but that was his life now and he had to make peace of it.

He spent a few minutes staring at the ceiling or looking around, trying to adjust after his sleep and when he was up, the clock was showing 10:09.

He had to eventually start his day, as he was having a meeting with a bookstore owner later today, at 12 am, to be exact. They would talk about the promotion of his latest book and set a date for signing and reading, if they would come to terms. He was answering to all those emails, calling him for an appointment in some of the city’s bookstores, as he had to make some money. _“Separated Lives”_ hadn’t much appeal, so, he was trying to increase that number. At the same time, he didn’t have any inspiration for another book in the near future, which gave him time to be here and there. It wasn’t like he was in some kind of financial trouble, quite the opposite actually, but that never made him sit till the next release of a novel.

Just like today. Once his feet were before the wooden floor, he looked around to see the level of mess that the room was, but the only messy thing he could spot was the bed. Walking around, he was fixing the sheets, putting his pillows, (yes, everything was his now) in their place.

If there was a woman in the corner of the room, she could stare at him, a lot. And the reason for that was definitely his appearance. His tall, muscular body moving next to the bed, was a great sight. His well-shaped abs, the triceps, the muscles down his thighs, alongside him wearing only his boxers, the only garment he was wearing during his sleep the warmer nights, and his messy hair were creating a rather impressive view of a man, or what people tend to call, “a snack”.

He really do cares about his appearance, hence his whole look. He has an annual subscription at one of the town’s gyms and visits it when he feels like it. There were times that some women would just throw themselves on him and he certainly hated trying to avoid them. It has been a common phenomenon over there, but he was going nevertheless.

He mostly loved running. It was giving him peace of mind. Mostly at some park nearby, otherwise he was fine by running around the block, despite the fact that the ladies from the neighborhood would look at him with curiosity. There was this treadmill at the guest room that his wife bought and he was running a few miles on it as well, but he didn’t prefer it, because nothing could be better than running outside, in the fresh air, and not in the four walls of a room.

Once he was done with the bed he proceeded to the bathroom. Looking himself at the mirror, he run his hand above his chin, checking his stubble. Thinking that this was an appointment and not some kind of coffee outing with his friends, he picked up the shaving foam and the razor and started the task of shaving. Washing his teeth with his usual blue gel mint toothpaste followed.

Being dressed with a sense of style was falling under the umbrella of caring about his appearance as well. He had some kind of unique dressing code, but at the same time, he was more than capable to support it. Today he went with his favorite grey sweater, warm enough for an April day, a pair of black jeans, and his dark brown boots with laces. Looking himself in the larger mirror now, that was placed next to his wardrobe, he liked his whole look, and once his hair was tamed perfectly, he smiled at himself.

Emerging from the bedroom, he headed to the kitchen and started the procedure of making himself some breakfast. First, he prepared some cappuccino that he always loved in his expensive coffee machine. He had really spent a fortune as his wife used to tell him in that one.

Truth to be told, HR had a special love for this Brazilian-origined beverage. His friends still call him to that day “coffee addict”, noticing that he was having a few mugs of it during the day. But unlike other people, for him coffee was making him relax and concentrate better, and not the opposite. And he really loved the sensation of hot coffee sliding down his throat, it had such a special taste to him, sometimes he couldn’t describe, despite his ability with words.

The hot cappuccino that now was served in his favorite mug was accompanied by some French toasts covered by butter and a strawberry jam that one of the neighbors offered him a few weeks ago.

Grabbing his phone from the pocket of his trousers, he opened the email app, in order to check his account for any new important emails, especially if anything changed with his meeting today that was in an hour from now as on the top middle of his screen he could see that it was 11:10 already.

 _Did it take me that long to get ready?_ he thought.

It was not a rush hour, so he wouldn’t stuck in traffic, but you can never know, so he had to finish his meal soon in order to make it to the bookstore.

No important emails were received, after all, so he put back his phone where he retrieved it before, his front right pocket.

Sipping the last of his coffee and having the rest of the food finished, he stood up and moved towards the hanger, from where he grabbed his coat, and it was a dark brown one matching with his shoes. Putting it on, he moved towards the small furniture that he had left his keys on and checked himself one last time on the small round mirror that was above it, smiling widely to check his teeth. He was looking more than nice, he thought.

“Let’s get over with it”, he said and he was out of the loft. 

“Finally!” Caitlin almost shouted when she left the hospital and headed to Jitters for a well-deserved dose of caffeine. It was almost 2 pm and her terrible morning coffee literally vanished from her organism two hours ago so she decided to spend her lunch break at her favorite coffee shop instead at hospital’s canteen.

She had a few more hours to work, and this break was more than necessary, not to mention that she didn’t even eat since last night. She knew how important breakfast was, but her unhealthy habits were just another change after Ronnie’s death.

Sometimes she would eat some pizza pockets for breakfast if she was really starving, but usually the only thing that was in her system until lunch was coffee.

So the moment it was her time to order at the Jitters she politely asked for her usual latte and sandwich that seemed like a new addition to their menu and looked absolutely delicious.

Settling at the first free table, she removed her jacket and started eating, enjoying the much needed food, and her stomach definitely agreed and welcomed something else instead of black coffee.

After she finished her meal, Caitlin checked the time and after seeing that she has good 30 minutes left, she decided to enjoy her latte there, without hurry.

She was checking the list of the remaining patients for the day on her phone and she completely turned off for the outside world as she took the sip of her drink and unconsciously left quiet satisfied sound at the perfect taste…

He didn’t expect his meeting with the bookstore owner to last this long. For two hours he was standing there listening to an older man literally fanboying him in front of his eyes, talking about almost every single book of his. He loved his work, he sure did, but last thing he expected from his appointment was a man starting elaborating on his thoughts on it.

Once he was done with it and actually made the deal, he found himself with the need for some coffee, although he had one a few hours ago at his house. He tried to think of a place he could go and grab one, and it was when it occurred to him.

At his last book signing, he had the same need. There was a small coffee shop a few steps away from that bookstore and he decided to give their coffee a try. He ended up not only loving the hot beverage they offered him, but the place as well. The quiet vibes it radiated, alongside the nice decor won him. He definitely thought that next time he’s downtown he’d visit it again.

Today was the day. 

After driving with his car the seemingly short distance, as he was there.

Entering the coffee shop, he patiently waited in the few people queue that was formed in front of the cashier. The place was as he remembered it, the atmosphere light, with low voices of people who were sitting on the tables. Looking around, he spotted one lady sitting alone. She was staring on her phone, with a to-go cup before her.

When she raised her head from the small led screen she was looking at it was when it hit him. It was her. That weird woman who wasn’t interested in flirting _._

 _“Caitlin Snow, that’s her_ ”, he thought.

The line was barely moving because the older lady at the front had the whole list of different beverages she was ordering, so his eyes as well his thoughts drifted off to the woman he spotted.

She seemed deep into her thoughts, as she almost didn’t blink while her thumb was sliding over the screen of her I phone. The look on her face was serious, and he remembered she had very similar expression at their encounter from two days ago.

She moved a strand of brown hair behind her ear and sipped coffee from the paper cup before biting her lower lip slightly and then releasing it and HR unconsciously wished to see her smiling. He somehow knew that the smile would make her beautiful face even prettier and he had unexplainable need to see that.

He probably spent a while staring at her as without realizing, he was standing in front of the cashier now as the young lady opposite him woke him up asking.

“Sir, what can I get you?”

After taking his coffee, some thoughts were all over his head.

A few days ago he wished he could see her again, he even made that known to her by writing it on her book, although he knew that the chances for that to happen are almost none. And now she was there.

If this was any other case, he would doubt that he had mistaken her for somebody, but not this time. He remembered her full name, he remembered her words but also her hair and eyes. This woman is the same one he met at the bookstore.

He made one step towards her table but he stopped. What if her opinion on him goes one level down than it already was? That he just wants to flirt with her and then, he didn’t know, that he wanted to sleep with her or something and toss her away? He definitely wasn’t that kind of man, treating women like that, but then again, she had cut off him like that the other day.

On the other hand, what did he have to lose? And she was definitely worth the try. Maybe, after all, he could have a new friend by the end of the day. He had appreciated that she actually commented on his book and didn’t come to just stare at him and go like every other woman. 

He made up his mind and walked the short distance to her table.

“I really didn’t expect to meet you again so quickly Miss Snow.” he started when he was in front of her table, and Caitlin lift her head to look at him only after hearing her last name.

At first, she didn’t say anything, thinking how she started imagining things because of too much coffee, or her lack of sleep or food. 

He did wrote about his feeling that they’ll meet again but the odds for that were one against thousand. Still, HR Wells was standing in front of her, with the mug in his hand and a boyish grin all over his face. She liked that grin way more than those smiles he was giving in the bookstore, it somehow suited him.

But the said grin started slowly fading and Caitlin wondered what’s wrong when he lift his hand in a surrender gesture.

“I promise I’m not trying to ‘charm you’” he said, referring to her words from the bookstore “I just wanted to say Hi.” And then Caitlin realized that she still didn’t said anything, but before she could get the chance, he continued “I mean, even if I wanted to try to charm you, I would wait for you to finish your coffee so you can’t throw it at me.”

Caitlin couldn’t hold on, and she laughed after a real struggle to not do it, and then he did exactly the same. Oh he was so right, that smile is beautiful. She finally spoke and he felt a huge relief.

“I wouldn’t go that far, don’t worry.” She was still shocked by the fact that he is really there so she actually asked him that “What brings you to this part of the town again Mr. Wells?”

“I had some meeting a few blocks from here, and then I remembered this place and its amazing coffee.” He was still standing there, with the hot mug in his hand, and truthfully he felt a little awkward “I should leave you to yourself now.” HR nodded slightly at her and just started walking away when something unexpected happened.

She didn’t plan this, she didn’t even know she wanted it, but before she realized the words were already spoken. “You can join me if you want.”

HR stopped and looked around, not sure if she was actually talking to him “Me? Are you sure, I don’t want to impose.”

“Yes, why not. I’m alone here, looks like you are alone too, and maybe you can actually explain how you knew we’ll meet again.” Well look at this, maybe she actually got the chance to know him better, the thoughts from the morning played in her head.

The man chuckled before he placed the mug on the table and took off his brown coat “Actually, I had no idea, I guess I just wrote my wish.”

Caitlin followed his every move carefully, from rolling up the sleeves on his dark grey cashmere sweater, running the hand through his hair all the way to tapping his fingers on the table. Maybe she liked this style more than the formal one she saw before. He seemed more relaxed, and something was telling her more him.

“And here I thought you were following me.”

“No, I was just lucky and my wish came true.” he tried coffee and left out a similar sound Caitlin did when she took her first sip. “How I didn’t know about this place earlier? I mean, this is extraordinary.”

She watched him amused how he praised the hot liquid like it was an actual person, and then something came to her mind. Maybe she shouldn’t tell him this, but still, she wanted to talk about it and maybe this was the only chance.

“I read the dedication you wrote this morning. Half because I was too busy, and half probably because I was scared.” She said looking at her cup and waiting for his answer.

He was taken aback with her honesty out of sudden and he just quietly asked her why.

When she looked him in the eyes, the young woman seemed like a kid who was sorry because she did a bad thing.

“I was too afraid to see what you wrote, because of my horrible way of talking to you.”

He couldn’t believe. She felt bad about that and he felt like doing everything to explain to her that she did nothing to offend him. If anything, her behavior made him see how strong and proud she actually is.

“Listen, you did nothing wrong. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.” Now her face changed to more curious and a little less guilty “I treated you like every other woman in there, and then you showed me you are nothing like them and I respect it. And I mean what I wrote there, I really admire you for all that.”

“What?” barely audible came from her as she couldn’t believe what he was saying to her.

“Don’t be so surprised, I mean, how often you meet someone who tells you his or her honest opinion like that? You need guts for that, and you totally have them, I like that.” He leaned on the table while he was talking and when he finished he stretched his long legs as much as table allowed him.

“I, thank you, I’m not sure I deserve all that praising, I was just talking without thinking too much about it, I mean, I didn’t want to say that your new book was bad you know..” she was so adorable when she was mumbling but HR felt bad for her torturing herself like that.

“Relax, I knew it already by myself, and the numbers also showed that it’s not total fan favorite.” He explained to her but she still wanted him to know that ‘ _Separated lives’_ was far from bad, it just needed something, something his other books had…

“I’ve read it, and trust me when I say that it’s a good book, with great story.” She tried and he nodded before he finished for her.

“But it misses something. And I can’t figure out what.” And then the idea occurred to him, she read it, and she seemed smart and creative, and she recognized that something was missing, maybe her point of view can help him realize it by himself.

“Can I ask you something? You can say no of course.” He started cautiously and she was just too interested to say ‘No” so she nodded at him. “I would like to know what you didn’t like, except the amount of drama of course.’ He chuckled “After all, I think you are the only one who will be completely honest.”

Caitlin liked that proposition, maybe it would help her to forget about her problems and pain at least for a few hours, and actually have an interesting conversation about something she likes.

Just when she was about to answer, her phone rang, informing her that she should get going. HR understood that without her telling him so he just decided to let go of his earlier idea.

“It’s okay, if we meet third time, maybe we can talk about it.” He smiled again, showing his dimples completely, and her eyes stayed there for two seconds longer than she planned.

Maybe they will actually run at each other like this again, but maybe they won’t… it was everything under “if” and Caitlin didn’t want to risk. Taking the napkin with Jitters logo and the pen from her beg, she did one more unexpected thing.

But somehow, it didn’t felt wrong when she handed him the soft paper with her phone number on it, it felt just about right.

“Here, we don’t have to rely on luck or fate for everything.” Her fingers brushed his and then he could see her back as she was leaving the coffee shop.

HR stayed there, watching her leaving and then staring at that place for the second time in two days. His eyes landed on the numbers she wrote, and he smiled again. Maybe this really is the beginning of one great friendship, he thought as he folded the napkin and placed it into his coat pocket.

It was one hour before the end of the day when an exhausted Caitlin Snow reached her apartment on the fifth floor. Sliding the front door with her left hand and turning the lights on with the right, she stepped inside and discarded her flats.

She was thanking her past self, the one at 8 in the morning, for not deciding to put on her usual 7cm heels. Probably she had expected for today it would be another tough day at the hospital and last thing she would want from her day was to have some feet pain from the shoes she was currently in.

She felt like she needed a shower, to wash away some tiredness and ease off her muscles, but she found herself with no power for it. Tomorrow morning, that would be better, she thought, so she went with her usual night routine, starting with her discarding her clothes and putting on her pajamas.

She had made a mental note to herself since morning to wear something thicker, as the cold she felt earlier in the first minutes of her day wasn’t the best thing to begin with. Everybody loves a warm wake up.

Being on other pair of sleeping garments that she dragged from her closet, she made her hair on a messy bun and continued with her night self-care routine, removing her minimal make-up pulling out of the green packet one wet wipe for sensitive skin that she always uses and applying her usual night cream.

Once she was on her bed, she let out a sigh. What a day it was for her. Work was so overwhelming for one more time, then again, nothing out of the ordinary.

But tonight, something was different.

She could feel herself different. She didn’t return home with her usual level of misery. Looking back, she might found the reason for that.

A few, or more, hours earlier she possibly made a new friend. And he was quite the person. She left the house in the morning thinking of him and his two sentences long message to her and he actually became the best part of her day.

HR Wells was the one. And he came to prove wrong all her original thoughts of her on him.

Two days ago, she completely brushed him off and her way of behaving wasn’t the best. And today, he spotted her at Jitters and he actually approached her. He just wanted to confirm his dedication, that they would meet again.

And with no hesitation she asked him to join her, it felt normal, and it felt right. Maybe she wanted to make up somehow for their last encounter, or maybe she wanted to meet more of him. She couldn’t clarify which one it was. One thing for sure, she had no problem for the renowned novelist HR Wells, as known as one of her heroes, to sit opposite her.

That thought in the first place made her smile. Calling back his image from before, seemed like powerful enough to break the flat line that her closed lips formed.

He was nice to her, which, she thought, was completely different than she was towards him. And probably it was unfair, for him showing his gentle face when he remembers her being nothing like that.

He made her smile, joking about her throwing her coffee at him in his attempt to charm her and she went back to think when was the last time she laughed genuinely next to a male presence. Yeah, it was her late fiancé. HR came and changed that. And it has been more than a great feeling to experience that again. And she lightened a bit with his company. It has been a long time since she had built her walls and it wasn’t easy for her to just do that.

Their few-minute talk lead her to the conclusion that she had misjudged him. He definitely wasn’t what he looked like in that book signing. If being honest with herself, she liked that things were that way. She might had been aware that he was known for his female audience and his rather special way of interacting with them but on Saturday she came to realize that it was worse than she originally thought it was. And today all that collapsed right in front of her eyes after having a better look at him. Not only he didn’t try to flirt with her, but he even considered that sitting with her even would put her in an uncomfortable position and apologized for treating her the same like those other ladies when she clearly wasn’t one of them and she didn’t deserve it.

He confessed that he admired her, for just coming straight to his face telling him what she thought of his book. He acknowledged that it hasn’t been of his best and he was being honest about it. It wasn’t this common for a writer to just admit that his work wasn’t good enough, especially to random fan like her, but there he was. And he seemed fine with it.

And then she had to return back to the hospital. She was enjoying being there with him, and so did he, as he expressed his will to meet for the third time and have a more lengthy talk about the topic they were discussing, his book.

And like that she gave him her number. It was like she didn’t think of it and her hands starting writing a row of digits on a napkin. She had probably given her number to some stranger, it crossed her mind, but it didn’t feel like it, at all. It was a pure conversation and she would definitely love to continue or even better, have more of them.

In doing so, he smiled at her.

He had such a beautiful smile. Wide and bright. Coming straight out of his heart. Or at least that’s what her eyes read of him. Maybe the next Wells thing she had to read was him. Getting to know him more. What kind of man he was down at his core? It seemed intriguing and fascinating having that information…

To be continued...


	3. The Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are with another chapter, a little later than we planned but it's finally ready :D

Caitlin barely had time to take a shower and change after coming from work, when the bell on her front door rang. She already knew it was Iris because her friend was convincing her to go to the cinema with her that night. She explained to her that she got free tickets as part of her new assignment as a reporter linked to the city’s movie theaters.

She was kind of tired, and she was thinking about saying _‘No’_ again, but she wanted to try to move on, to go out, to enjoy her life again; going to the cinema with a friend instead of staying at home and doing nothing seemed like a great start.

She thought more about what people close to her were telling her all the time. Ronnie’s death destroyed her, crashed her into pieces and she acknowledged that she will never be able to be whole again. But sometimes, sometimes broken things can be fixed, or at least she could try to fix them.

She’s a young, smart, capable woman, and she loves spending time with her friends, celebrating Christmas and Thanksgiving, she loves shopping and going out for a drink… she loves life, she just lost the desire for all that. But, what’s lost can be retrieved, and Caitlin decided to give her best to do that. To somehow come back to her old, happy self.

But just lately she started accepting the invitations, or more precisely, the book signing was the first time when she wanted to go. And it actually felt good. So now, she said yes without even asking what they were going to watch.

Still, before agreeing she asked Iris why she doesn’t go with Barry, and the other woman explained how he’s caught up in a bunch of unsolved cases lately at his job as CSI for CCPD, so he barely had any free time.

Barry and Iris met 4 years ago when Iris was still working as a barista at Jitters. Caitlin was actually the first one to notice that he was coming a little too often to the coffee shop, and then they realized that the reason wasn’t the caffeine, but a certain lady. After a few months of cute and clumsy flirting he finally asked her out, and now they are engaged since he proposed to her at their Christmas party.

He was nice, compassionate, and most importantly, he treated her best friend like a queen, and that was everything Caitlin needed to accept and love him as her new friend too. Also, she will never be able to forget how much understanding he had after Ronnie’s death as Iris was canceling their dates or coming home really late to be with Caitlin, trying to comfort her. He never asked why, or complained, even more, he was offering any help he was able provide too.

And now, maybe he really had too much to work so he couldn’t make it tonight, but the second scenario was more likely to Caitlin, that he and Iris agreed to get her out of the house once again. They did that a lot, trying to help her to move on with her life, and maybe sometimes she seemed annoyed with their attempts to do that, she was actually grateful. For having friends like that, who had her back, who wanted good for her, who never left her side. Sometimes she even believed that she didn't deserve them.

Caitlin thought of the previous time when she accepted her friend’s invitation to go somewhere while she was in the shower. She met her favorite writer that day. And she brushed him off because she wanted to be taken more seriously. But at the end of the day, she had to admit that it wasn’t that bad. She actually had fun, plus she got ‘material’ to think about.

She caught herself wishing to have further knowledge about the mystery that was signed as ‘HR Wells’. And she got that chance, but she wanted more, so she made a teeny tiny window in the middle of the wall she built around herself and gave him her phone number.

But, it was already Thursday and nothing happened. She didn’t expect him to call her immediately, but she hoped she would hear from him by now.

Then again, maybe he just forgot about her, or he doesn’t want to talk to her more than they did at the Jitters. Thankfully before she started overthinking about it, she felt the water getting colder so she turned it off, wrapped the towel around herself, and started dressing up so that Iris doesn’t have to wait for her when she comes to pick her up.

If he decides to text her – great, if he doesn’t, well… she’ll survive, she was dealing with much, much worse things than that. But deep down, she really wanted to see a message from him, she just didn’t want to let it go yet.

“So, what are we watching?” she finally asked as they were walking from the car to the movie theater nearby.

“Jumanji: The next level.” Iris’s answer was short and Caitlin nodded. The reporter chose not to mention that the other choice was a rerun of ‘Titanic’ because she wanted to make Caitlin happier, and she won’t do that with reminding her of her lost love. So, a comedy like ‘Jumanji’ was the perfect choice.

“Well, watching Jack Black playing a teenage girl is always a good thing,” Caitlin said with her eyes wide, trying not to laugh when they stood in the line for the popcorn and drinks.

Caitlin powered her phone off before the movie started. At least for now, she turned off all her worries and thoughts together with the device. She wanted to laugh and enjoy without any distraction, and activate it once the movie credits end.

Sitting on his favorite grey and comfortable armchair, HR stares at a blank white page on the word-processing program that he has opened on his laptop.

It was again one of those nights that found him in front of his laptop device with the need of writing something, but with zero inspiration for it. He spent hours writing paragraphs and then when coming back to see what’s written, he just pressed the delete button and went back to full white.

He had trouble with it, he was well aware of that, but he was trying as hard as he could to start something. He hadn’t any kind of deadline, at least not yet, but the time would pass and he still wouldn’t have anything to show at his publisher.

Francisco - Cisco for friends - who was the head of Ramon Publications, the latest publishing company he had signed with, made him a call yesterday, asking if there’s any progress, if there’s something new that they could discuss about and HR felt really uncomfortable with having actually nothing. He politely announced to him that it would be nice if he could start for another book and HR promised him that he wouldn’t fail him and he’ll have some drafts soon enough.

Well that maybe was a lie, he admitted to himself, after hanging up the phone, but of course, he wouldn’t jeopardize the best partnership he had with a publishing company in his journey as a writer so far like that. He had to try, at least.

So, here he was, in his living room once again, his long fingers tapping the letter buttons, words forming before his eyes that he could see on his led screen. Words that later he will most likely erase, because he’ll just not like them. He was in some kind of loop, he thought, spending his nights in this particular way, with no actual outcome.

Pushing up his black-rimmed glasses that he always wears when he writes as they enhanced his vision and helped him avoid any headache after many hours in front of his Macbook, he sipped his recently made hot cappuccino, (was it the fourth one for today? He couldn’t remember) and took a deep breath.

“Okay, last effort for tonight, come on man, you gotta write something!”, he told himself.

The only sounds that surrounded him were from outside the large window, mostly car horns and his keyboard as he started the task of writing.

_“She walked down the quiet narrow alley leading to her small apartment…”_

For a while he thought that he got it as the number of the words in the bottom left was increasing, the digital pages started filling, feeling happy about himself for finally having a start at the book he had in mind.

He was a romance writer and again, he would step in the same shoes and continue his existing career as one. He was fascinated by all those love stories taking form on random TV shows he was watching on the small screen or the books that he was secretly reading from his mom’s bookcase. Boys at his age must read comics and like superheroes, or car magazines and start rambling afterward about the capabilities of an engine, but that never applied to him.

And that led him to his current situation. Maybe it had been hard at times, taking into account the writer’s block that he occasionally had to face, but he loved it nonetheless. 

That’s what makes him keep going, wanting to create a little world all by himself, where the characters are people with happy endings, and stories that are proving the power of love. Where the hardships might be a part of the characters’ lives but they can overcome them because they are who they are, humans. Humans with defaults, mistakes, humans with bright smiles that fill the others’ hearts, humans who can share everything but hate. But things aren’t a bubble that was revolving about ideal things. He was just thinking how the woman that was standing behind him at the queue could easily be Emma or Alex or any other character that he was writing about. Because that little world might wasn’t perfect, but it was based in reality, and maybe one random female reader could find herself relating to some aspect with a fictional one.

After three successful pages, his mind told him to stop. He was struggling to start describing the female character of his story but it was like his fingers couldn’t type anything. He was stuck there, having a problem with how she will be called even. He started wondering what’s wrong with him, he didn’t remember himself having such issues and he felt like he failed a whole bunch of people, first of them all, the one who was sitting there. It shouldn’t be that way, he thought, and he kept asking his own self how he ended up like that. Why did the events in his life affect him that way? Why has he changed this much? Why can't he go back to his good old author self that had a plethora of ideas in the most random moment? This was really torturing him. The writing was all he ever did, all he ever was came from it and now it’s like he can’t access that room anymore.

He felt like he should start pressing the delete button for one more time, but a voice inside of him was telling him not to. That he couldn’t just throw again something that he put some effort into. Who knows, maybe next time he’ll open this untitled document he’ll add thousands of words.

With that thought in his head, he saved the file on his desktop and pulled down the laptop’s screen. He was done for tonight. Leaning back on the armchair he let himself relax and stared at the ceiling. It felt like he was doing that for an hour when he decided that it was time to head to bed, having a shower first. Removing his covered with black socks feet from the coffee table that he had rested them this whole time and grabbing the device from his thighs, he stands up and leans forward to place it on the small furniture item. Once he does, his gaze focuses on the white piece of paper lying on the top of his book. It was the napkin that Caitlin had given to him the other day at this new coffee shop.

When he came back home on Monday, he remembered leaving it there with the book that he had brought to the meeting, smiling while setting them down. It was the thought of her that actually made him come back to how nice she was towards him today, something it came in contradict with his first impression on her.

He was thinking of texting her, but he stopped himself right before his hand even touched his phone. He had just met this woman, he couldn’t behave like they’ve known forever and started talking normally. What would she think of him? He had just felt like they could be friends if they meet better, but things like that always take time and he definitely didn’t want her to mistakenly believe that he’s seeking for anything else. Maybe long-term he would, or, they, would, but for now, they were just two people at the very first step of friendship and he told himself that he wouldn’t ruin that. So, he left that sequence of numbers written on a napkin right there and he will finish the task he had in mind before another time.

Seems like the other time was this night. The pressure he had felt from his inability to write more had him pondering if contacting her now is a wise option.

What if she sleeps? Or she’s with some company and she gets bothered with my text? These and a dozen other questions were all over his head but eventually, he decided that if he doesn’t do that this instant, he would be in the same situation in the near future again and it wouldn’t make any difference, would it?

Grabbing the napkin, he sat back again on the armchair and pulled his phone out of his dark blue sweatpants. Saving her contact as Caitlin Snow, he opened the messages app and the usual blank white page showed, reminding him of his computer before.

 _“Type something…”_ he could read at the bottom of the screen and he started thinking about how he should start their talk.

 _“Hey Caitlin, it’s HR Wells, how are you doing?”,_ he typed first.

 _“No, she’s not your pal you idiot!”,_ he told himself and deleted what was written.

 _“The not-so-charming writer says Hi!”,_ was his second try.

 _“Who do you think you are anyway?”,_ he told himself again.

 _“Got it!”,_ he let out with enthusiasm as he used his thumbs to form the message that thought was good enough.

All he had to do now was to wait. _Will she even answer it? How will she feel when she sees it? Did I make a mistake by sending that? Hope she doesn’t hate me after that,_ was all he could think at that moment.

2 hours and 10 minutes later Caitlin and Iris retrieved the 3D glasses and tossed the empty popcorn boxes in the trash can as they started walking down the hall towards the exit of the movie theatre with a bunch of other people. 

They already started their chit chat reviews, agreeing that they both enjoyed the movie, (well, their uncontrolled laughter at some scenes was the clear evidence of that anyway) and that they would gladly watch the third part if it ever comes out.

When they found themselves on the street, Caitlin turned her phone on again, noticing that it’s 22:17. One more thing she noticed is that there were no messages or notifications. She felt a little bit disappointed because somehow she had a feeling that at least something will wait for her when she turns it on. Anyway, that won’t ruin her good mood, and it seemed like Iris had more brilliant ideas.

“We could go for a drink, it’s not too late.” She started innocently, already used to Caitlin’s defense system when it comes to accepting her offers, but it was time for her to get surprised.

Caitlin thought about the decision she made a couple of days ago, so she checked the time again and nodded at Iris “Okay, but just one, I still have to go to work tomorrow.”

“One is all we need!’ Iris clapped her hands together excitedly and rushed to find her car keys so they can go immediately.

They went to the bar they used to go sometimes, and like they guessed it was the karaoke night. Maybe the singing was mostly awful, but the atmosphere was relaxed, nice and fun.

They couldn’t help but relive the memories when Iris dragged Barry to the stage to sing with her at the very beginning of their relationship. Bunch of their friends were there, Iris was a bit tipsy, and Barry so awkward. But what came as a big surprise is that he was probably the best singer that the club ever had.

“Your face when he actually started singing like an angel…” Caitlin was laughing and Iris took a big sip of her drink before she finished her thought “yeah, at that moment I realized I’m screwed.”

Caitlin traced her finger around the edge of the glass and then started playing with the olive in her martini “I’ve missed this.” She said quietly, for the first time admitting something like that to Iris. But it was true, this felt good, and she wanted it back, maybe it’s better said than done, but she won’t hide and isolate anymore.

Not wanting to darken the mood with possibly painful conversations, she brought the glass to her lips and took her very first sip. And she liked the familiar feeling of spicy liquid on her tongue and then traveling all the way down her throat, “And I missed this too!” she laughed again, and Iris put a smile back on her face too, the happiness evident on her face before she clicked their glasses together.

The screen on Caitlin’s phone came suddenly to life, and she glanced to see why. Picking it up from the table, she could see the big 22:49 and the small SMS notification beneath the numbers. For a tiny second, she thought who that might be, but that was quickly replaced with something more rational – that it’s some promotion or something.

Still, she didn’t ignore it, she drew the simple pattern for unlocking, and the first thing she found out was that it wasn’t any promotion, but the number was indeed unknown. She clicked with her thumb on it, noticing that Iris was busy listening to not too bad signers at the stage so she wasn’t paying too much attention to what she was doing at the moment.

_“Hi, I’m just checking if one quite charming lady maybe gave me a dry cleaning store’s number. HR Wells.”_

Caitlin’s first reaction was a giggle, but then she finally realized that he actually texted her and she felt a strange mix of happiness, excitement, and a little bit of guilt still present. She didn’t even think about it and she tapped on the reply button immediately.

 **22:53 PM – Caitlin Snow** _**:** _ _“I already thought you used the napkin I gave you to wipe your mouth after coffee. But it looks like you kept it in case you need dry cleaning?”_

HR was pleasantly surprised when he got the answer just a few minutes later, even more, when she confirmed that she indeed gave him her number. He said it as a joke in the message, but still, it was nice to see it confirmed.

 **22:55 – HR Wells:** _“Of course I kept it and I’m glad it’s you instead. I apologize if I woke you up or interrupted something.”_

 **22:56 – Caitlin Snow:** _“No, you didn’t. I just stopped by for a drink with a friend after the cinema.”_

 **22:57 – HR Wells:** _“Oh, which movie?”_

He asked out of blue, and she liked his curiosity and spontaneity.

 **22:58 – Caitlin Snow:** _“Jumanji: The next level. If you want to laugh and relax, I recommend it.”_

 **22:58 – HR Wells:** _“Noted, thanks. :)”_

The simple emoji he put at the end made her react a little more than normal. Like that tiny smiley face meant a step forward in their friendship, even though they only changed a couple of messages by now. But just before she sent some other random message, he beat her to it and her phone vibrated again.

 **22:58 – HR Wells:** _“You know, I want to ask you something, but I don’t want you to misunderstand me.”_

Even by his message, Caitlin could feel that he is serious now, so she decided to act the same.

 **22:59 – Caitlin Snow** _**:** _ _“It’s okay, ask.”_

He felt relieved and began typing a little longer message now. He started and deleted it a few times again. _Come on, you are gonna ask her a simple thing, it’s not a big deal, even if she says no._ He tried to convince himself, but he was still so nervous.

Caitlin’s eyes moved from the phone to Iris coming back from the restroom and taking her seat once again. Few minutes passed and he still didn’t ask her the question he wanted to, and she was even more curious about what it was. Just when Iris started talking about something that happened in a restroom to her, the phone rang and she grabbed it with the intention to read his message.

 **23:04 – HR Wells:** _“I was trying to write and then I remembered our encounter from a few days ago. And if I remember correctly, you didn’t want fate to decide about our third meeting. So, I was wondering, if you are free, would you like to join me for a drink tomorrow or this Saturday?”_

 **23:04 – HR Wells** _**:** _ _“It’s just a friendly drink, nothing else I promise. I feel like we both had more to say this Monday before you had to go, and maybe we should give it a chance.”_

Caitlin was reading the messages with a smile she was trying to hide but unsuccessfully. She was really happy that he actually asked her to meet him because she felt the same need and desire to share more thoughts with him.

And then it suddenly hit her. He said friendly drink, but still, he is a man, from what she knows a single man, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready. Yes, she decided to try to move on and go back to living, but what if it was too early for this? What if it turns into something unplanned and bad? There’s a chance she’ll end up hurt again.

She wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.

Her face probably gave away her thoughts because Iris waved her hand in front of her face. “Earth to Caitlin! Who are you talking to? And why do you look like you have seen the ghost?”

“HR.” Caitlin answered absently, trying to figure out what exactly to answer. But soon, that was quite impossible because her friend’s reaction came out in a tiny scream.

“WHAT?! HR? The HR? How? Caitlin what’s happening here?” she hoped she wouldn’t have to explain it to her here, but when they are at home and cozy, but her friend demanded the answers, her inner fangirl almost taking over once again.

She explained about his dedication, meeting him at the Jitters, finding out that he is actually quite lovely, her giving him her number, and him now texting her.

After some time of Iris’s overreacting about this whole thing, her friend came back to her normal self, well mostly.

“But why do you look like that? Did he say something wrong?” She was concerned now and Caitlin told her about her struggle and worries.

“He asked me to meet him for a drink, so we can talk more. Just as friends, without anything pushy or awkward. But…”

“But?” Iris prompted her, because she wanted to hear the whole thing and see if she could help her somehow.

“But, I’m scared. Even though this will be a friendly drink, I don’t know if I’m ready. I don’t know if I can do it.”

Like the Caitlin from the earlier, that night was gone and once again replaced with the depressed Caitlin. Iris understood that completely, but she would be damn if she let her sink down again, just when she decided to change things.

“Cait, listen to me.. Your life is on pause for more than 18 months. Ronnie was great, and I know how much you loved him, and we all loved him, but... You spent enough time on mourning. Maybe HR won’t turn out that great, and you will delete his number and forget him after that drink, but what if the reverse happens? What if you like him even more? Who knows, maybe a friend like him is exactly what you need.”

Caitlin was looking from her phone and message still waiting for her answer to Iris who spoke like this to her for the first time since Ronnie died. She wanted to believe in everything she said, but the struggle was still there.

“It’s your choice, but think about this – you gave him your phone number for a reason, Cait you want this.” The girl said and took the glass to finish her drink before she turned her gaze back to the stage, giving Caitlin some kind of privacy to answer to his message.

Iris is right, she wanted this, she gave him her number willingly because she wanted to see him again. And in the back of her mind, she hoped to see his message almost every time she looked at her phone these last few days. He deserves a chance and she needs to take this ‘risk’.

Caitlin made up her mind and finally started typing the answer, not noticing Iris looking at her from the corner of her eye and smiling softly because she could feel that her tiny speech worked.

Great, fifteen minutes passed and she didn’t answer, HR was now pacing over his living room, throwing his iPhone on the couch and taking it again to check it. He freaked her out, he should wait more to ask her that but he couldn’t! Now he lost her even before he got to know her!

But then the familiar sound came from the device, and with the speed of light, he had it in his hands.

 **23:16 – Caitlin Snow:** _“Saturday sounds great. :) Just let me know about time and place.”_

In the sight of that HR’s nervous face changed to a happy one, just like the emoticon she had chosen to send. After thinking that she misjudged him and all his thoughts for stepping too far already, her message made him smile in relief.

“Great!”, he let out in excitement, the only listener was him either way.

He found himself in that mood and he wasn’t sure if he could explain it. It was a random woman who brushed him off at the first encounter and yet, she was still attractive to him. Attractive not in a romantic way, he wasn’t seeing her like that despite her being one of the prettiest women he has ever laid his eyes on, but as a person. Yeah, he didn’t know any of her, fingers crossed he won’t do anything wrong and he actually will.

With the stupid grin on his face he tried to concentrate and think of a place that would be ideal for their first date (was it a date? No, not at least in the common way. Just two people hanging out over a drink, that’s it).

Something that hasn’t the loudest of music for 20-year-olds for sure but two grown people could enjoy their night and share a few thoughts. Options ran through his head, but certainly, he would use some minutes to end up to something. He had time untill Saturday, right?

Who would tell him that this Thursday night would end with him being happy over his phone after having arranged a meeting (let’s call it like that for now, sounds better) with the weird woman from the bookstore? It has been some kind of surprise, but at the same time, he made it happen. Seems like the best decision in a long time.

On the other side of the town, Caitlin takes the last sip of her martini, thinking of what she had just done, and how in a few days from now she’ll have the very same alcohol mixed beverage by the company of HR in some other bar.

She can definitely find traces of fear and nervousness lurking inside of her, but there was something that was telling her that it might be the right choice. Having Iris’ words and that tiny voice in mind she smiled. It’s time to do what she kept hearing from others and saying to herself, _move on_. And he seemed to enter in perfect timing.

It’s either nothing or, a start of a great story. 

To be continued...


	4. Getting To Know You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendly not date-date.

Caitlin locked her car at the parking lot where the navigation system brought her and started her search for the place he suggested to meet.

She spent her whole life in Central City, a bigger part of the childhood and early teenage years with her parents in their family house in the suburb and later in her apartment in the center of the town. Although, first few years of her life, her parents had an apartment in exactly this neighborhood, before they decided that wasn’t the most perfect place to raise a child and bought a house when she was 5.

And now, she was a little embarrassed about needing the GPS to find this bar. But in her defense, it wasn’t the part of the city she was usually visiting.

She crossed the street and started walking on the sidewalk trying to find any sign of the place (she actually just assumed it’s a bar since he asked her for a drink) called “Art”. Also, she wasn’t surprised that the writer chooses the place for going out named Art.

Already feeling her feet aching in her 4 inches stiletto pumps since she was mostly wearing flats in the last few months, and if she wore heels, she always chooses the most comfortable and the lowest possible ones.

But this wasn’t work, walking at the park or cinema night. This was an actual outgoing, and she wanted to do it right, so, a little sore feet are nothing she can’t handle. Speaking of getting ready for tonight, Iris of course couldn’t resist so she came by with an explanation she can’t let her choose the outfit alone, because she will probably pick some ‘granny’ thing.

So after a lot of persuasions, and Iris’s babbling how she should look hot for their first date (even after Caitlin 23 times repeated it wasn’t a date she still called it like that) she finally decided for the simple black dress with lacy overlay and elbow-length sleeves. The tight material of the dress was reaching till her mid-thighs and her brown cardigan was almost covering it completely.

She always had that kind of power to make almost every combination look hot and very classy at the same time and tonight wasn’t an exception either. With her classic _Daniel Wellington_ watch and simple necklace with a small snowflake pendant to complete the whole look, she gave the impression of the real lady she was.

Still, she felt nervous and almost couldn’t believe that this is really happening. That she actually started working on fixing her life. It seemed so unreal that she agreed to this because she was denying it for so long that it became natural to her to stay at home and drawn in the memories and sadness. But the messages in her phone were real, as well this dress and heels, and her ride to this place.

One more thing was real and she couldn’t deny it anymore. It was her desire to do this. Maybe that’s what made it different this time. Any other time when Iris, or Kara or any other of her friends or colleagues asked her to join them for this kind of things, she declined it because she honestly didn’t feel like it. They mean good to her, she knows that, but she couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and forced with all that.

But what made her accept HR’s invitation wasn’t just the need to get back on the rails, it also sounded tempting to her, not forced. She felt like it would be easier to do this with someone who doesn’t know everything about her. Who doesn’t know about her sad love story and the emotional wreck she’s feeling for months now.

Maybe she just wanted someone who can talk to her without thinking about her sadness and trying to cheer her, and that was possible only if that person was someone new in her life.

Truth to be told, she thought that’s impossible because she wasn’t sure that she will be able to make new friends anytime soon, but it seems like the miracle happened. Sure, HR wasn’t her friend yet, and maybe he won’t be, but something was telling her that everything will turn out to be great.

In 7 days she met him, categorized him as an asshole, caught herself thinking how he is actually quite interesting, found out that he maybe isn’t that bad after the fate connected them again, let her guard down a bit by giving him her number, secretly hoped that he will call her, and now, she was having a friendly ‘date’ with him. All that, it just couldn’t be without a reason, so she truly believed that they have the potential to build something more there.

She pushed all her nagging insecurities and fears aside when she finally spotted the sign ‘Art’ on the building on the other side of the street. Stupid navigation system screwed her to walk almost 300 meters in not so comfortable heels.

She could see that the place was big and it had more than one floor, so she prayed to God that HR was waiting for her somewhere close to the doors so she won’t have to search for him there. She took a deep breath and pushed the door to step inside.

It’s been 10 minutes since he arrived and 5 minutes after the time they agreed to meet. He tried to ignore all the stupid thoughts in his head like _‘Why she didn’t come yet?’_ or _‘She won’t show up.’,_ reminding himself that it’s normal for her to be a little bit late.

He was sitting at the bar at his usual seat since he was a regular guest there and explained the bartender, Dan, that he will wait with the order until his company arrives. HR was thinking of asking him how does he look, but he thought that would maybe be an awkward question - sure they know each other but they are not friends to talk about things like that, so he decided against it.

She will be here any minute, and there’s no time to change his clothes, and what good will some maybe negative comment about his appearance do to him now? He remembered looking at least three times in the mirror before he left his place. He didn’t want to look overdressed but also he didn’t want to give out the impression that he didn’t put any effort.

In the end he decided for a navy long-sleeve thin cotton sweater which was everything but tight and still it was doing an excellent job in showing his well-defined arms, and simple dark jeans. While getting ready he noticed that he should have a haircut soon, but his sides were still short so it wasn’t too urgent. He didn’t tame it in ‘every hair at its place’ this time, instead he left the top just slightly fluffy.

Maybe some would call it disheveled, but no one could say it was making him look bad, in fact, it looked just perfect on him, and he didn’t know that, but Caitlin liked it too.

He checked the time on his phone once again, and after seeing that it passed only one minute since he checked it last time, he sighed and stuffed it back in his pocket. He was a little too nervous about a simple thing like this. He was never worried about his look before, but now he didn’t want to screw up any tiny detail.

Also, he was never worried if the girl he was supposed to meet will actually show up. After his divorce, he had a few dates, some were blind setups, and some seemed like a good idea at the time, but every single one was the same. They had a drink or two, they talked about some meaningless things, and then they never saw each other again.

Still, he was never in thoughts if they’ll like or judge the way he looks, or if they will come, because he knew they will. Maybe the reason for his indifference back then was that he didn’t care enough. If he was completely honest, he would say that usually, he prayed to be stood up.

But now, he wanted this, he wanted this more than he wanted something in a very long time. This wasn’t a date, this is not something that can end up with two of them waking up together in the bed the next morning. This is two people getting to know each other better, to learn about another, and share thoughts. It was something much stronger than a one-night stand, it was a chance for the friendship, and from the reason still not completely known to him, he wanted it to work out.

He was becoming more and more nervous about her not coming because he was still holding onto their first meeting, and he even thought of her agreeing to this just so she can make him wait even though she won’t come. But then he thought better, and suddenly felt guilty about thinking of her like that. The nice lady from the jitters from a couple of days ago was honest, sweet, and kind, she would never do such a thing. But neither would the fierce woman from the bookstore, she was sharp and serious, but not mean, he was also sure that ‘being mean’ doesn’t exist in her nature.

HR felt someone patting his back and saying hi to him and after turning around saw an acquaintance of his. Politely greeting back the man that was passing by, his eyes accidentally landed on the front door, and then he spotted her.

Her coat was almost reaching her bare knees, hair loosed as always and he could swear that she was prettier every time he sees her. She was standing there a little bit awkwardly, looking around, and then it hit him that she was most likely trying to find him. But just when he was about to stand up and walk to her, she looked straight at him, and almost instantly smiled.

Making her way towards him, he quickly stood up, his face lightening up at seeing her.

“Hi.” Was all he said like all the other thoughts just died in his head when he spotted her.

“Hi, I’m sorry I’m late, I had a problem finding this place.” She said chuckling a bit and then she looked around. There were no paintings or sculptures but the walls were covered with framed black and white photographs of she guessed the guests over the years, and quotes, and song lyrics here and there. It really was an art, and she definitely could connect it to HR. “But now I see why you choose to meet here, it’s amazing.”

Just then she noticed that there were no free tables but before she could ask him anything, he grinned again and took his thin coat from the back of the chair where he was sitting “Don’t worry about it I wasn’t waiting too long, and yes, we’ll have where to sit.” He chuckled when he saw her scanning the place and gestured with his hand and she followed him to the corner where the staircase was placed.

The second floor was very similar, only less crowded, with not too loud music and dim lights that made it all look even better. Few tables were occupied and he led her to the one next to the window saying how it was always his favorite.

“I’m really happy you came, and wow, you look amazing,” he said with the same grin when they reached the table and she took off her coat before sitting on the comfortable chair. She almost felt like blushing but she quickly answered him to avoid potential red all over her face because of the simple comment.

“Thanks, you look great too. I like the casual style more.” She said with the look of approval and a small smile, and really, that blue shirt looked just perfect on him, not to mention that the color was matching his eyes and it made them even more blue and clear.

He was so relieved but he didn’t show too many signs of it, instead, he answered joking “I almost came in the tux, good thing I decided against it in the last moment.” After not longer 10 minutes Caitlin could see that he really liked to smile and laugh, and then, she was absolutely sure that this is really the person she needs in her life right now, someone happy. She was is ready to start her first 'not date-date'.

After a few glances around, Caitlin’s attempt to picture the whole place, the bartender approached them to take their order.

“Good evening, what can I get you?”, he politely asked the pair.

HR looked at Caitlin, as a sign for her to speak first and she went again with her favorite drink, a martini.

“My usual, thank you,” he said and he was gone.

With a smile on his face that she wasn’t sure if she could decode, he asked her, “Martini huh?”

“Yeah, classic woman drink, great taste, I don’t see why not.”

“I like martini...Martini is nice, hmm, now that I think of it I should definitely get you to taste mine”, he said in what seemed like a thoughtful way.

“Were you a bartender or something?”

“Me?”, letting out a laugh, “No. And I didn’t learn that in college or anything like that. Remember _“Steps Towards You?”_ , my first book?”, he asked her.

When she nodded, he continued, “Well, as you can recall then, the main male character, Michael, he was a bartender and I felt like I should know more about that job, so I did my research, and somehow I ended up making drinks at home. I have a small bar back there if you will.”

“Hmm, that’s impressive, the last thing I expected from you was to be some kind of an amateur bartender.” Both of them chuckled at the sound of that,

“I know right? But look at me! I can make you everything you want, from a martini to a pina colada or even a Shirley temple”, he said with a smile on his face that looked more like a smirk.

“Can’t wait to have a pina colada from your hands!”, her expression almost matching his.

HR liked the sound of that, how she was speaking about the future like that. Even though she probably wasn’t completely serious, it still meant something. “You got it! Now I can be ‘HR the bartender’ for you, great!”, he joked, his tone teasing but again truthful.

When the waiter placed their drinks on the wooden table and she took the first sip, he looked at her at awe, somehow waiting for her to comment on it and so she did.

“I am really curious now to see if your martini can beat this one here!”, she let out in a rather tempting tone.

“Challenge accepted!”, was all he told her.

Smiling back at him, she tucked one strand of her hair behind her right ear, thinking of asking him what she had in mind, but she was feeling a bit nervous about it, so she just went with it, “Why it’s HR?”

“What do you mean exactly?”

“Your name, it’s very unusual for someone to be called like that, or at least I had never heard it before, you.”

“Well, if you’re in for some story time, I can tell you.”

“I asked, didn’t I?.”

“Yeah, you did.” HR chuckled and then leaned on the table just a little bit, “Okay so, my granddad, my mother’s father’s name was Richard, and he died around two months before I was born. My mom loved him dearly and she wanted me to have his name, but they had already agreed on Harrison, so Richard became my middle name. As I was growing up she was using both names to call me, ‘Harrison Richard’”, he imitated his mother’s voice, “It was like she was calling two people, and I didn’t even have a brother!”, he laughed at that. “So, in a weird sort of way my name is HR, after efforts to find something that actually included my both names.”

“Wow, and here I thought it was your random pen name. How should I call you then?”

“HR’s fine, Harrison on special occasions only”, he assured her with a smile.

“Okay, HR”, she said his name like she was testing the sound of it when she had known him for years from his books. “Richard isn’t bad though.”

“Please don’t”, he shook his head laughing.

After a few minutes of silence, well, at least between these two as the music and the voices of other people could be heard, he spoke.

“I am still amazed that you’re actually here, you know, after..”, his eyes adopted a more serious look now. He didn’t continue his sentence knowing that she will get what he meant.

“Look, I- I am sorry, I shouldn’t behave like that back then, I was, I was mean towards you and you didn’t deserve it.” She had the need to tell him she was sorry, especially after their last encounter at Jitters. He was so nice, made her laugh, the same as he does now and she just wanted to make it right. She had been thinking that she should do this and now seemed like a good time to say that and so did she.

”Caitlin,” it was the first time he used her name and it made her meet his eyes directly as he continued talking “I already told you, no bad feelings here, it’s okay.” He gave her another warm smile “And you already apologized, without a reason if you ask me, and like I said then- I treated you like the others, and you are definitely different.”

When she didn’t say anything he leaned back in his chair and added “You actually commented on that book and didn’t come to just have it signed and leave, and I’m pretty sure you are the first one who commented honestly. I truly appreciate that.”

Letting out a small smile, “then, are we okay with this? That’s the end of it?”, she asked.

“Hmm, if you treat me nice from now on, maybe you’ll hear the end of it.”

“Okay, okay deal.”

“You know, you were right..”, he spoke again.

“Right about what?”, she was curious.

“About the book. And the drama it had. Certainly not of my best works.”

“Maybe it wasn’t, yeah, but it was a great story. Too heartbreaking from the usual, but you definitely kept us till the end.”

He didn’t say anything to answer to that and she continued, “I am just wondering why this one went this far, the stories in your books were always happy, happier,” she corrected herself, “than this”.

He was still silent. He seemed like something troubled him, like he wanted to say something but he couldn’t. He licked his lips and took one sip of his drink, his eyes avoiding hers.

He felt uncertain about revealing part of his life to a woman he had just met. Not because he felt ashamed or anything, but because he thought that it might not be this interesting for her to hear the backstory of his not-so-successful book. Despite that, “Halfway I got divorced. And the little that was left of my inspiration was gone after that.”, was all he said, his gaze focused on the rounded glass, his fingers playing with it. His voice was normal, with no trace of bitter, or extreme sadness.

She looked at him and she wanted to tell him that she felt sorry. For both events.

She never knew he was married, he had probably kept his personal life off books (no pun intended), or she never came across that information. HR was the renowned and best-selling author that was flirting with the ladies in signings, leaving compliments and charming them in each of his appearances.

She started thinking that this all might be a fake profile he had for the public, to attract more people to his work. He was different here, with her, nothing like what she saw at their first meeting. She originally thought it was her cutting him off successfully, but seems like it wasn’t that. It was him all along.

And then, how awful must be for a writer to lose his inspiration in the middle of a story? She couldn’t even imagine. People like him are what they are because of their minds coming across beautiful stories and characters, taking the readers’ hands and reach to an end. And according to what he just told her, he couldn’t access that during that book.

“HR, I –“

“No, don’t be sorry, it’s okay. It was a long time ago and these things happen.”

“You seem to have made peace with it.”

“Well, what else you can do? It took me a while to make the step out of it and now here I am.”

That moment, Caitlin felt a bit special. She thought that he was here, with her, after everything that happened to his life willingly, talking about his life and enjoying a drink as two acquaintances – maybe it’s too soon to say ‘friends’- sharing a laugh and having a good time. It was HR, of course, other women must have been around him, but somehow, she believed that if he had anyone else to spend his time with, he would have just done that, instead of being with her. Maybe she was too modest at this, like, why would anyone want to be with her, especially a man like him, when he can have every female he wants, but he was right next to her, wasn’t he?

When she didn’t speak, he added “Maybe it was for a reason, like it was written, or what you call, ‘fate’”, his eyes locked to hers. Blue irises focused on her brown ones.

She smiled when he remembered her little reference to fate back in Jitters.

“Yeah, maybe.”

Trying to lighten the atmosphere, he cleared his throat and spoke, “I hope you like the place. I know you said you found it amazing before but I still have to ask. I visit it quite often.”

“I understood that when you ordered. It’s quiet and the decoration is really special. I love the general vibe it radiates. Plus, they have a great martini!”

“Wait until I fulfill the challenge you gave me.” He said, referring to him making the drink for her.

“Yes, you did. And I repeat that I am looking forward to that.”

“Oh, and by the way”, she continued, “I like how a writer picks a place called “Art” as his joint.”

“It just happened, I am not choosing places by names, although in some sort of way this one fits my occupation.”

“I just found it interesting.”

“Yeah, you have a point. But you’re here too, although you are,” he tried to think for a minute if she had ever told him her job and he had forgotten, but he was sure that she hasn’t, “wait, I don’t know your job – what’s your job?”

His way of asking that was funny for her, and one more smile added to the number.

“I am a doctor, I’m working in King’s Hospital.”

“A doc-, a doctor?”, he asked in disbelief. Or at least that’s what she could read of him.

“From your reaction, I guess I don’t look like one”, she responded.

“No, no, it’s not that. I am just fascinated by it. Although from your first look at me you seemed like a lawyer or some bank clerk.”

“Wow, now I am the fascinated one”, she joked.

“I am really speaking with a genius right now. I mean, you are saving lives, that’s admirable Caitlin”, he said, clearly amazed by that.

“Well, it’s not the easiest thing someone can do, we usually don’t have much time because of patient's condition, plus our boss is really tough and strict, I recognize that but let’s say that I like what I am doing, so I never let the level of difficulty get in the way.” She realized that she started babbling like she always did about her job so she just finished with “I love helping people, so it’s not a hardship for me.”

He was looking at her in awe again, “So I bet you were one of those girls who grew up constantly saying the good old “when I grow up I wanna be a doctor”.”

“Kinda yes. Actually, my dad was a doctor, a pediatrician, and I got inspired by him. First, it was me pretending the doctor with a fake kit for kids, then observing my dad at work the few times he let me stay there, and in the end, I find myself being a student in the medicine department in Metropolis’ University.”

“Who could believe that I befriended a doctor here!”, his excitement obvious.

“Well, look at you!”

“Then I should reconsider the second drink, when the doctor’s around”, his voice low.

“Good thinking, I give you that.” 

Caitlin was truly surprised when she glanced at her watch and realized it’s almost 11:30 PM. They talked about everything that came to their minds, everyday stuff, a little bit about both of them. She really enjoyed talking with HR, way more than she thought it’s possible to enjoy. She even lost the track of time, and that almost never happens to Caitlin Snow.

He glanced at her empty glass, as well an empty mineral water bottle since they switched to it about an hour ago. Caitlin said how one glass of martini is more than enough remembering that she needs to drive home, and she giggled with a small smirk when he answered how he doesn’t want to get the genius doctor drunk. He was just about to ask her if she wants something else but she spoke.

“It gets pretty late, maybe we should go.” She said in her normal tone, but the apologetic note was present because she didn’t want him to think that she doesn’t enjoy “I really don’t want them to kick us from here.” She finished with a small laugh.

“That would never happen, but yeah, maybe you are right.” He smiled lovingly and she was relieved that he didn’t understand it wrong. He waved the waiter who was cleaning the table at another side of the big room and reached for his wallet when Caitlin suddenly insisted for him to split the bill with her.

He quickly dismissed her saying how he understands that she is successful and capable enough to pay for drinks but he would be doing a shitty job as a gentleman if he let her do it. She didn’t want to argue since the young man who served them earlier approached now, but didn’t let it go, so she said that next time, it’s gonna be on her.

“Oh, so I was good enough to get second” he didn’t want to call it meeting since it sounded too connected to work, but also he didn’t want to use the word date either so he just went with “chance to prove that I’m not a complete jerk.”

He already had her coat in his hands and offered it to her which she gladly accepted. Smirking as she slid her arms in the sleeves Caitlin turned around and answered “Yes, you can say that.” She caught him putting on his coat as well, and thought how she couldn’t remember the last time she saw a man with so much style when he fixed his collar.

He thought about asking her if she needs a ride home but she told him how her car is parked down the street, so he offered to walk her there. She denied two times saying how she doesn’t want to torture him, but one of the things she discovered tonight is that HR Wells is really stubborn, so she agreed at the end.

HR was afraid that tonight will be weird, that they will sit in silence not knowing what to talk about… but even after more than 2 hours they still had many topics to chat, even if it was him teasing her about parking car so far away when she had the place to park it almost in front of the bar.

“Mini, huh? You are full of surprises miss Snow.” He stated amused when she clicked the button on her keys and signals shone on the royal blue Mini Cooper.

“What can I say, it’s perfect for us who are horrible at parking.” Caitlin turned to him when they stood directly in front of the said car and he chuckled. “Thank you.” She said refereeing to him walking her there, she didn’t want to mention it, but she actually didn’t feel comfortable walking alone at midnight, but he showed her once again that night how thoughtful he is.

“No, thank you. For a lovely evening and everything tonight.” His smile was barely there this time but his eyes still full of warmth and focused on her that it almost made her blush, thinking how if this was a date he would probably kiss her now. But just then the dimples on his cheeks covered with almost unnoticeable stubble appeared and he offered his hand.

“Trust me when I say that it was my pleasure and I think we should do this again.” She showed him a big smile and accepted his hand. It was warm, and actually a little rougher than she expected for a writer, and her mind drifted away for a second, thinking what made it like that. Also, it felt nice when he ran his thumb over her fingers briefly before releasing it.

“I agree, until next time then Caitlin.” He said when she already entered the car.

“Until next time Harrison Richard Wells.” She lowered her window so he could hear her and emphasized his second name. HR would usually threaten to stop it, but maybe for the first time, he actually liked how it sounded.

“Careful with that, you are one of the few who knows my secret.” And with that, she drove away after assuring him that his secret is safe with her.

HR started walking back to his car, already rewinding everything that happened tonight. He was afraid without a reason, but one thing he guessed right – Caitlin was the most humble, caring, and amazing woman he ever met and he felt privileged for getting the chance to know her better.

He was always good at reading people, but she was still mysterious to him. She is successful and capable, she is very funny and she loves to laugh, but somehow, he could see that there was something holding her back. He noticed her drifting off from time to time when she thought he’s not looking, her face falling as if she felt guilty for something…

One thing was sure, he was looking forward to knowing more of her, but also letting her know more of him.

When Caitlin came home, the first thing she did was walking to her shelf and searching for one specific book. _‘Steps towards you’_ looked exactly the same like the day she bought it all these years ago since Caitlin was taking extra care about all her stuff, including the books. She bit her lip with a smile when she read the part when the main character, Michael was making a martini for Natalie who came to that bar with the intention to drink away all her problems.

She returned the book and proceeded to the bathroom, thinking how this night took a very interesting way to go, and pleasantly surprising. she didn’t think it would be possible to have such a great connection with someone after knowing each other for a very short time. Not to mention the way they started…

But HR is a happy person, he is literally radiating positive energy and it was almost impossible to stay unaffected by it. Even with unfortunate events that happened to him, he still managed to be one of the brightest people she ever met.

She liked his voice when he was talking something funny or the way he throws back his head when he is laughing… he has that boyish charm and she definitely prefers it over his ‘stage charm’. And after all, he is someone new and exciting, someone, she really needs now.

Still, she couldn’t say that everything was fixed now because the sadness isn’t gone, in fact, it’s like it's waiting for her to forget her problems to strike again. Few times, she almost told him that she can’t’ do it, that she needs to leave, but then she would see him smiling, or talking about something funny, and it was like he gave her strength to fight.

Caitlin caught herself in the mirror, there was no tired face or bags under her eyes, instead there was a tiny smile. She couldn’t wait to see him again.

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t even know where to start, but I know this is gonna be big, so, feel free to ignore it, but I need to say it. 
> 
> I just want to say a huuuuge thank you to my partner, my best friend, and easily my soulmate @thedaysofmiss. Not only that I got the most wonderful birthday wishes from her, but also, she decided to give me another gift.  
> It was her idea to post this chapter for my 22th, and I was so thrilled with it, especially since this is the chapter where we have ‘R’ from “HR” explained, I’m pretty sure for the first time ever (you can always correct me if I’m wrong).  
> Yes, it was her idea, and I find it beyond amazing, and I just keep telling her how much I adore that explanation because to me it’s PERFECT. But Also, I hope you guys like it too (fingers crossed :D)  
> So, like having a friend like that wasn’t gift enough, she was kind enough to gift me with Harrison ‘Richard’ Wells as well. I’m a lucky and happy girl. :D
> 
> If you reached here, thank you for reading, we hope you liked it because we sure did have fun writing it, and we’ll give our best to come back with the new chapter asap.


	5. Friends Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HR and Caitlin, their friends and the date-not date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keeping our promise for a new chapter by the end of the month, we are here. Enjoy! :)

The weather was showing its pretty face to one of America’s most beautiful cities, Central City, quite normal for spring season though. Everything moving around as it is supposed to, people at their work, public transport doing the regular in town routes, kids at school..

Under one of the many rooftops, you can spot HR with his manager, publisher and dear friend, Cisco Ramon. Taking advantage of the great day, Cisco thought of paying a visit to him, as their latest way of communication was phone calls.

HR signed a partnership with Ramon Publications three years ago, after a small economical disagreement with his previous one and the lack of decent publish of his books. He has been a part of various publishing companies throughout the years, but it really felt like that his deal with the latest one will last for a long time. He became fast and good friends with the head of it, Cisco, who despite his younger age, was having similar taste and was one of the nicest and funniest people to form a friendship with. 

With the white kitchen counter separating the two men, HR has his back turned at Cisco, his attention to the coffee machine, making a drink for both of them, one espresso and one cappuccino, before they start talking. Ramon was one of the few people that were well aware of HR’s skills in coffee making, which was another reason for him wanting to hang out at his friend’s place and not some cafeteria downtown.

Scanning the place like he has been here for the first time, Cisco eventually asks,

“What’s the name of the lady that cleans your house? She has done an incredible job.”

Letting out a laugh, HR’s reply comes, “HR”, a smile on his face that isn’t visible from the other man as he closed the jar of sugar.

“What?”

“Yeah, what's unbelievable in that?”

“So you’re telling me that you are keeping everything in place in your four-hundred square feet loft?”

“Uh-huh. It’s not like I am too busy with something or out of here all the day, so yeah, I am the one taking care of my own house.”

With the drink freshly poured in the rounded glass, HR handles it to him.

Nodding in thanks, Cisco asks again,

“So, I take it that there is no progress for a new novel, huh?”

“Actually, there is something under development, but I am not sure about it, at least not yet.”

“What is it about? Can you share anything?”

“Ugh, I have been thinking the protagonist would be a hurt, closed up woman that will find love in the most unusual place, with someone different than her, and then you’ll just watch her changing while being in the relationship”, HR tried to explain and after a small pause he continued, “but it’s a random thought for now, I have just started describing her life.”

“That’s nice, I mean, a nice start. Take your time and I think that in a few months we can have again an all new best-selling novel”, Cisco sounded excited, or he was just supportive of him.

Since the day they shook hands the long-haired Hispanic man was always by his side, having nothing but encouraging words for the writer. Sometimes he didn’t need them, but others it was great to be around a person like that having only positive things to say. Cisco couldn’t quite get the image of a successful publisher out to HR as he was too amiable and simple-styled, but his curriculum vitae was proving it wrong.

“I don’t know Cisco, the failure of the last one seems to have taken too much from me, it took my creativity away… There is nothing that inspires me at the moment and I don’t want it to be a forced product, people don’t really deserve that kind of crap from me.”

“Hey, don’t stress. Your last book wasn’t a failure, it just didn’t go as well as the others, but it still had a decent audience. It was average to the book critics and it determined the success of it. After all, it was justifiable with everything that happened at that time. I am sure your all new ‘cold’ lady will bring the HR Wells former glory back.”

“Ohh haha, nice one, I give you that.”

“Since when did you become a pessimist? Come on man!”

When HR turns around with his cup of cappuccino, trying to still enjoy the drink until the weather becomes too hot for it, Cisco adds,

“Oh, I see you haven’t had yours yet, that’s why”

“Yeah, that must be it, you got it.”

Taking a sip of his caffeine drink, Cisco lets out a small moan.

“I had forgotten how good your coffee is, it has been a while.”

“Yeah, it has, I guess we’ve been preoccupied. Water?”

“ I’d like to, please.”

HR’s phone comes to life at that moment, the characteristic notification sound can be heard alongside a small vibration that was felt by Cisco as his forearms were leaning on the counter. The owner doesn’t seem to bother about it, completing his task filling a glass full of water for his friend.

Curiosity combined with HR’s seemingly ignorance on the matter, made Ramon’s brown eyes make it to the screen of the cellular device, a message box made his presence on it and Cisco sees something he did not expect.

“Hey, who’s Caitlin Snow that sends you ‘good morning’ with a smiley emoji?”

“What?” HR asks, caught a bit off guard. Placing the previously required glass of water next to his friend’s coffee, he grabs the phone.

His face immediately lights up, quite happy that he got a message from her.

In the meanwhile, Cisco’s features indicate that he still needed an answer to his question, which made him feel awkward, as he had to talk about that, about _her_. But he’s his friend, so he decided that he would tell him as much as he wanted and that would be it, not that there was much stuff to say regarding that either way.

Putting his phone in his pocket this time, keeping it away from the long haired man’s curiosity, he started to talk only to be interrupted.

“Ohh, I see what’s going on, she’s one of the chicks that come to signings and now you’re going next level”, his lips forming a smirk.

“What? No, no,no, stop right there, nothing from that”, HR was fast to deny his speculations and the former curiosity look on his friend’s face now became one of disbelief. “Caitlin is a…Caitlin is a friend”, there, he managed to say it, drinking the first sip of his cappuccino as an effort to partially hide his facial expression. The trouble letting it out all at once evident, as he wasn’t aware what that is and where it is going. He might have texted with her a few times and enjoyed a coffee and alcohol drinks together, but that was all, at least for now.

As a man of course he could find her attractive, she’s a really good-looking woman, educated, with strength and power of will. All that was deduced from their last meeting, having their first real conversation. Maybe it sounds too fast, for someone finding out this amount of traits that someone else has, but he’s a novelist, a great one as it seems, so it’s simply part of his job to be shrewd and he just knew that he got all that right with her. There’s still so much more he has to learn about Caitlin and of course he is willing to do that journey.

“A friend? That’s how you call it, huh?” Cisco seemed that he was buying none of that.

“Really, she’s just a friend, nothing has happened, I swear! What else should I say to believe me?”

“Okay then, I’ll take your word for it. For now. Can’t wait for you to bring her as your date in one of my parties!”

“Be prepared for a mouth drop then.”

“Is that so? You really score high with them.”

Feeling the blush on his cheeks, HR didn’t want this talk to continue.

“Ahh, stop it. But for your information, she’s beautiful; it’d be a shame to claim the opposite.”

For the next hour the two friends covered various topics, Cisco was sharing with him the latest deals he closed, the events he has to attend in the near future and the two men had a nice talk in general.

After the goodbyes and wishes for good luck for his friend, HR sat on his couch, retrieving his phone from the front pocket of his loose jeans, wanting to reply to the message he received earlier, feeling bad from the moment he chose to answer it later.

But Cisco wouldn’t let that go, it was clear enough, he even thought that Caitlin and him were already too deep in their relationship, so he couldn’t deal with her ‘good morning’ message that moment. He couldn’t lie, it was in the back of his head for the last 60 minutes, thinking that he ignores her or something similar and certainly that wasn’t the impression he wanted to give her, now that the things between them were better and they both had apologized for their initial behavior that Saturday morning at the bookstore.

Seeing her message made him feel really great though. This is the first time she texted him ever since she gave him her number and he started thinking that she really sees him as a friend.

Taking a breath, that would give him some kind of strength; his thumbs started typing his reply message, a modest smile on his face. He really started to believe that he acts like he did with his high school crush when he was 17, many years back, and boy, that wasn’t a good thing. He might not love struck yet, but Caitlin is the first woman that he wanted to spend time with ever since his break up, and he certainly didn’t want to screw anything up with her. She was more than the right and worthy one trying getting back on track.

_“Hey, sorry for the late reply, I’ve had an early meeting with my publisher. How are you?”_

Just a little before 11 Caitlin was sitting in Jitters and drinking her favorite latte directly from the coffee shop’s mug. She checked her cell a few times, but nothing drastic changed – no new messages, and either time slowed down, or she just checked it 3 times in 2 minutes.

She didn’t think much before typing the message and tapping send earlier in the morning. But then again, why would she? They had a great time and a real connection started building between them, and she would be crazy if she didn’t want to at least give them a chance for more of those moments.

Honestly, she wasn’t even upset that she didn’t get any reply yet, because there was a huge chance he was writing or even still sleeping. She somehow knew that there was no way he ignored her or something. What she felt could be described as a weird kind of excitement that she wasn’t able to explain yet, but she was willing to explore it more. So, just to be sure, she glanced at her phone one more time, before she returned her attention to her coffee.

Despite the fact that today could be described as an easy day at work, Caitlin still took advantage of her 11 am break and called Iris to meet her for the coffee.

Her friend was working more on the field; chasing stories and hidden truth, than in the office, especially the last couple of months.

Some would be more comfortable with just office work and writing reports on their laptops, but not Iris West. She worked hard to be the best one both in college and when she started working at _Central City Picture News_ , she was beyond happy that she would finally get some real tasks to fulfill instead of just boring, not really significant news. The headline of her career hasn’t come to her, but everything at its time.

She is always ready for action, and Caitlin wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to sneak in a scary warehouse and look for the clues needed to expose some of the most dangerous criminals in Central City. She really hoped that wouldn't happen, because she didn’t even want to imagine something happening to Iris, as much as proud she was of her fearlessness and thirst for justice.

Speaking of the field job, Iris had a more loose schedule, so she was always letting Caitlin choose time and place for their meeting, and she would accommodate that.

Caitlin would usually say how she doesn’t want to distract her from her serious ‘treasure hunt’ (not that Iris would ever listen to her though) and she would probably say the same this time, but after unlocking her phone that morning, she found dozens of messages of Iris asking about her ‘date’ with HR.

Caitlin thought about repeating ‘it was not a date’ again, but there was no point in that. It was obviously like talking to a wall, and Iris adored to tease her with such things. Even without Iris’s almost pathological need to find out what her best friend and her favorite writer talked about, she actually wanted to sit down and chat about it. So, she was glad Iris was eager to listen to it. Not that she would ever admit that to her, _she is already unstoppable_ , Caitlin thought.

Just when Caitlin was about to reach for her phone and ask if she’ll manage to come, she spotted Iris at the door and just a second later she was walking towards her.

White blouse, black pants, dark green coat, and black Ray ban’s with perfect hair and makeup almost made Caitlin repeat the question that she often asked her – how does she always look like she jumped from some magazine, even after an exhausting day at work, but she didn’t get the chance because Iris already started talking even before taking the seat.

“I’m sorry you had to wait blame the stupid traffic, oh you ordered for me too, yes!” Iris was moving from topic to topic very quickly and Caitlin just watched her amused. Also, she was literally counting backwards the seconds before she gets to ask her about the main reason for their meeting.

It happened soon enough, right after the reporter swallowed the first sip of her coffee, turning directly to Caitlin, with a big mischievous smile on her face. “So?”

“So?” was the first thing Caitlin said since the other woman’s arrival. She knew very well what she was asking, but she always followed the ‘I don’t know what are you talking about’ method, in an effort to tease her friend before she spits out the whole question. But she had to admit that Iris’s next words surprised her.

Leaning just a little bit on the table, she whispered “Is he a good kisser?” with a playful raise of one eyebrow.

“Iris! What kind of question is that?” Caitlin felt like she was about to blush and she tried her best to hide it, along with the laugh that threatened to escape her.

“You are right, that was a totally stupid question,” Iris answered, and just when she was about to thank her, for finally acting reasonably she continued “Of course he is a good kisser, you just have to tell me, how good exactly?”

Caitlin sipped her coffee, before she decided to try beating Iris in her own game ,

“I can only tell you how good he is at shaking hands.”

“Shaking hands?! Oh my God, please tell me that you used protection!” she said with a hilarious tone of irony in every word and Caitlin rolled her eyes, finally letting her giggle out “Seriously Cait, a handshake?” Iris finished also bursting into a laugh.

“I told you it’s not a date, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“I know, I’m kidding, but for real now, how was it? I mean, I have a feeling that it was nice, but I still want you to tell me everything.” The reporter answered, now with a more calm but equally genuine smile on her face.

Caitlin thought of everything that happened the night before, her nervousness, thoughts about how everything was a bad idea and then having a relaxing talk with HR about many, many things made her realize that she had so much to say, but she wasn’t sure how to explain it in the right way.

She wished to have his incredible ability and talent to tell every story perfectly, but since she didn’t, she had to try to put it together by herself.

“It was great actually”, she started and raised a hand to stop Iris from cheering. “At first I thought I was the only one nervous, but he was kinda the same.” She continued, thinking how it’s probably been a while for him too. A while since he met someone new and tried to befriend them. That actually made her feel better, thinking how they are in a similar situation.

“But it was strange because once we went past all the awkwardness, I found myself really enjoying his company. And from his reaction, I’m pretty sure he is sharing my opinion.”

“I know I don’t really know him well yet, but Iris, he is sweet and nice, and so positive, and.. he’s not faking any of it, don’t ask me how I know… I just know. He really is a good guy.” She said it in a way to let Iris know that she’s grateful for her advice to accept his invitation, because after all, she was right.

Surprisingly, the other woman was silent, just watching her talking with a soft smile. And this time, she decided to leave the teasing out this time.

“And that’s exactly what you deserve. Someone sincere and sweet, and especially someone who has this effect on you” Iris said, pointing at her friend’s smile. Yes, she was aware that no one could just erase her sadness, especially not so fast, but the difference was already evident. HR was good for her, in every way.

Just when Caitlin was about to say something else, her phone beeped, and she retrieved it from her pocket to see if it’s something urgent.

It wasn’t urgent, but it was definitely good. She tapped on the message icon to see his reply, satisfied that she was right, he did not ignore her. She drifted off without realizing it, Iris just couldn’t stay quiet.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” The grin on her face was so big, her eyes almost glittering.

“Yes, and don’t look at me like that, I told you there’s nothing between us”, Caitlin rolled her eyes, but without any serious annoyance towards her friend.

“I didn’t say anything!” Iris threw her hands in a gesture of surrender before she continued, “But when I say he is good for you and someone you deserve, you know I didn’t mean that only in a romantic way, right?” she wanted to make sure that Caitlin doesn’t think she wants to push her into something so early, even by only talking and teasing her about it.

Caitlin knew Iris well enough to know that she only wants what’s good for her. She perfectly understood what she meant when she said everything about a person like him being someone she deserves – HR the person, human being, the other possible titles like acquaintance, boyfriend, friend, coffee body…will come later. For now, she agreed that she wanted to keep knowing just normal, sweet ‘title-less’ _him._

“Yes, I know”, she answered simply, but her smile was enough for her friend to understand that everything is crystal clear, without any misunderstanding.

A few moments passed with both of them just enjoying the hot beverages, but then another beep could be heard, but this time it was coming from Iris’s phone.

Judging by the frown on her face the news wasn’t that great, and Caitlin carefully asked her if everything was right.

“It’s Barry, he says there’s some problem with the venue and that I should come.” She answered, typing already angrily.

Caitlin understood her, with the wedding being less than six months away, if they lose the venue there's a slight chance to find another in time at this time of the year.

“You should go, I know it’s really important to you,” Caitlin assured her, but she didn’t want to leave her like that, especially not after she bombarded her with messages demanding them to meet “Iris it’s fine, plus my break should be over soon, so don’t you worry about it.”

“ Also, I have a message to answer too, remember?” she added in the end, knowing what effect that’ll have on a reporter, and she wasn’t wrong.

“Yes you do”, she grinned quickly and put on her coat, already annoyed at the conversation she was about to have with the not so lovely lady that was showing them the venue “And I’m going to get them the piece of my mind!”

“You show them, girl!” Caitlin laughed as she waved a goodbye to her friend before she retrieved her phone.

 **11:02 AM – HR Wells:** “Hey, sorry for the late reply, I’ve had an early meeting with my publisher. How are you?”

 **11:18 AM – Caitlin Snow:** “Don’t worry about it, I actually thought you were sleeping, but look at you, working already.”

 **11:20 AM – Caitlin Snow:** “I’m great, and how about you?”

 **11:24 AM – HR Wells:** “Come on doctor Snow, I do love to sleep, but I’m not that lazy :P It was actually both a business and friend meeting, with my publisher.”

 **11:25 AM – HR Wells:** “I didn’t want to bother you, but since you said hi I’m gonna use the chance to thank you for a great time two nights ago.”

 **11:27 AM – Caitlin Snow:** “Believe it or not, I actually wanted to say the same.”

She hadn’t even finished her coffee when she realized that the time had passed and she had to come back and continue her work. The brunette doctor just took a few seconds to write him a quick message that she needed to go before she grabbed her coat and left Jitters.

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than usual, this was a filler chapter and revolved around Snowells and their early-stage feelings. Any feedback is appreciated, either via kudos or comments. We are extremely grateful to each and everyone of you who have made our little story reach 55 kudos, it means a lot and we didn't expect that appeal, considering the choice of the ship and the fandom itself. 
> 
> Until next time! (and who knows, maybe they'll meet again ;))


	6. Running Up To You

She hoped that she would catch a few extra hours of sleep this morning, but Iris’ call in the last moment changed her plans and she couldn’t say no. That goes with being the maid of honor – basically doing all the things that the bride does as well, with a slight difference in wearing a simpler gown instead of the beautiful white one for the special day. Iris promised she would be nice in choosing the dress for her, and she believed her. It will take a while to find out though. Of course, not marrying too is added to the bucket of dissimilarities.

  
Today’s duty was choosing perfect flowers for wedding decorations, and Iris explained that taking Barry counted the same as if she were alone since her husband-to-be doesn’t really have a clue about these kinds of things. She had a point, because whatever he pointed at in the flower shop earned a big no from at least one of them. Sometimes both. Even from the nice middle-aged lady that worked there.

  
After a number of consecutive rejections to his ideas, the man decided that it’s for the best if he just stops talking and agrees with them. He still had to take his credit card out to pay in the end though.

  
During the couple of hours they spent there, Caitlin's mind carried her back to the time when her and Iris’s roles were reversed, when they were preparing for her wedding day. The wedding that never happened. _"This is not the right time for this Caitlin_ " she told herself and eventually, she did a great job in hiding her feelings that thoughts of the past brought to the surface, because she wanted this to be nothing but a happy experience for her friend.

  
Maybe it seemed like a simple, unimportant task to do, but she knew Iris very well and her love for details and the need to make everything perfect. So picking the right flowers was Caitlin’s main and only goal for that morning. Sad memories can wait, because for now, making sure that her best friend and her fiancée have the flawless, unforgettable wedding was the most important task.

  
In the end, they went with dusty pink and gold roses, classic and elegant, something both of them liked the most, and even Barry couldn’t say anything bad.  
The day was already beautiful and almost summer-like even though it was still April, so Barry suggested they should chill in the park that was nearby before they go back home. Thinking of her schedule, she had to be at work around 2 pm, so Caitlin had absolutely no reason to be in a hurry and gladly accepted the invitation.  
  
Kids riding roller skates or playing with dogs, people jogging, couples walking hand in hand and some of them sitting at one of the park’s wooden tables or benches… It wasn’t even noon and the Tompkins Square Park was already full of life.

  
They found a place at one of the smaller tables, not far away from a shack where a sweet older man was selling all kinds of snacks and drinks and was surrounded by a group of kids who got tired from their soccer game and wanted something refreshing. With Iris practically dragging her out of bed once again, Caitlin didn’t have time to drink any coffee, not even her lame one, so they stopped to have one in a coffee shop not far away from the park. Jitters coffee was by far her favorite, but she had to admit this one tasted fine as well. A little stronger than she used to, but still tasted nice.

  
“Iris, tell me again why my presence was necessary today?” Barry asked, clearly teasing his fiancée since he basically did nothing about the actual task.

  
“You are the groom, and you should participate in everything equally as me.” Iris answered but he immediately sent her a ‘Seriously?’ look and she laughed “Okay, okay, it wasn’t necessary, I just wanted you to come too.”

  
Caitlin was just about to add something about them being cute when she noticed that Iris’ eyes locked on something over her shoulder. But before she got the chance to ask her if everything's all right the reporter slapped her hand on Caitlin's shoulder a few times.

“I. Can’t. Believe.” She said dramatically and then pointed subtly towards the shack.

He was grateful for the nice weather because it gave him the pleasure of running his daily miles outside in the fresh air instead of the boring treadmill at home. Plus, April and May were his favorite months for this activity, since the temperature outside was just perfect for his taste.

He went with a simple black t-shirt, blue shorts, and matching Nike running shoes. He was never obsessed with buying designer clothes just because of a brand, but he had to admit that he had a thing for sneakers and shoes. Also, he liked a specific type, so they were mostly similar, in all kinds of different colors. But then again, running is his daily routine so that was everything but wasted money.

  
He set up his Spotify playlist, put the earphones in their place, and left his home already increasing his pace as he was using stairs instead of the elevator. He thought of the destination and decided that for today, the park that was not far away was the perfect choice. HR left the building and made his way towards Tompkins Square Park.

“Iris, what’s happening?” Caitlin asked while turning her head around, only to find a familiar face not far away .

“Ohh..” she left out, not quite sure what to say.

“First you ‘accidentally’ met in Jitters,” Iris made an air quote sign, “and now here too! Cait, this is fate!” her tone full of excitement.

Barry was confused and he asked the girls to explain it to him, but Iris quickly shushed him and turned her full attention back to HR who was waiting in the line in front of the kiosk shack.

His earphones were still in place, and from what she could see, it seemed like he'd been running for a while already. As for Caitlin, she turned back to her friends, feeling awkward out of sudden, and praying that Iris wouldn’t do anything stupid.

“Daamn, this one doesn’t skip legs day.” she mused and took another sip of her coffee like she was in a cinema and watched a movie. She also sent a look to Barry, clearly accusing him of having a tendency to skip the legs day.

“Caitlin, you should call him to join us!” She was talking to her friend, but her eyes still followed the writer, because she didn’t want to risk and lose him from her sight. Especially not because she already came up with the plan.

Caitlin’s answer was like she expected, that they shouldn’t bother him, blah, blah, blah… so after noticing that he removed one earphone and bought himself a bottle of water, she yelled his name suddenly without any warning.

Caitlin’s eyes widened in horror, and she repeated “Don’t” a few times, but Iris had none of it.

The man turned around like he wasn’t sure if he’s imagining that someone was yelling his name, but then he heard that voice again, and his eyes landed on the young, pretty African-American woman, who seemed awfully familiar and was waving at him.

But what actually drew his attention was her companion, who was turned with her back and had wonderful chestnut wavy hair.

 _‘Nah, there are zero chances that can be her.”_ HR thought, but then he saw her head spinning slowly and he could swear that his heart started beating just a liiitle bit faster when his eyes landed on no one else but Caitlin Snow.

She had a tiny smile on her face, and she seemed a bit awkward, while he was just standing there, with an unopened bottle of water on his right hand, staring at her from the distance with a stupid grin. He would be probably still doing that if the other woman didn’t yell his name again, and gestured for him to join them.

His legs worked on their own, and before he knew it, he was walking towards the group of three. A few seconds later he found himself in front of Caitlin, her friend he also met at the bookstore, and the young man that wasn’t familiar to him.

“Hi,” he said smiling, his voice much softer than he actually planned to be, and his eyes focused on one specific person a little too much, and what’s worse, she was actually smiling back at him, making the task of snapping himself out of it quite hard, but he did manage in the end.

Same could be said for Caitlin, but she cleared her throat before she was about to introduce her friends to him. Well, re-introduce Iris since he already met her in a similar way he did with Caitlin.

He turned his attention to the other two people, hoping he would guess the woman’s name well. He was always good with faces of every person he met at all kinds of signing events, but it was pretty impossible to remember everyone’s names too, yet with this one, he succeeded.

“Iris right?” he removed the other earphone from his ear and left them around his neck, before he offered his hand to the reporter, and glanced at both her and Caitlin for confirmation of her name.

“Yes, it’s super nice to meet you. Again.” She grinned at him, and Caitlin proceeded to introduce Barry.

“And this is Barry.” But then Barry did something totally unexpected and almost interrupted her.

“Barry Allen, I really love your books Mr. Wells!” he said a little too excitedly and Iris and Caitlin shared the look, and HR... Well, he had a big proud grin on his face.

“Babe, what was that?” Iris asked him not really believing he was reading romance mystery novels. It was an interesting fact to learn though for the man she was about to marry.

“What, I read too!” he defended himself, and HR just then realized he hadn't answered to him.

“Barry, I already like you, and please call me HR.” the ladies shot him a look now, and he had a ready answer for their silent question,

“Trust me, when your audience is mostly women, it’s really refreshing to hear something like this.”

Iris kept her thoughts for herself, that she already can smell some serious bro bonding between HR and her fiancee and it was absolutely adorable. But then, she remembered her initial plan and quickly asked HR to join them since he was still standing.

After his polite answer that he doesn’t want to intrude, Caitlin spoke again and this time, it was her who asked him to stay. It seemed like that was all he needed, so she just moved a bit and made a place for him on the bench next to her.

Of course, Iris couldn’t be quiet, Caitlin thought and wished for Earth to swallow her when she suddenly asked a question which almost made HR choke on the first sip of his water.

“So.. What are your intentions with our lovely doctor Snow?” she turned into a full reporter, with her chin resting on her hand with a smile on her face. Barry didn’t know what was happening at all, he was just happy when he saw HR, he didn’t even think how they knew him or if Caitlin had something with him.

And Caitlin, well, she was sure that her face was completely red because she felt even her ears burning from embarrassment at her friend’s words and even more from HR’s reaction.

“Well,” HR chuckled after the shock passed “the initial intention was to try to convince her to not hate me.” That was when Caitlin chuckled too, and he was glad because that was what he wanted to do with that answer – make her feel less uncomfortable.

When he saw that she turned to him too, he knew it was safe to continue “And for the future, there are no intentions, but maybe some coffee wouldn’t hurt.” He was careful because the last thing he wanted is to be any kind of pushy and annoying, so he finished his answer in what seemed like a safe way “I mean, I already miss that awesome coffee shop!”

“I don’t know, this one is pretty great too.” Caitlin raised her to-go cup and he immediately recognized the sign on it since the owner, Mark, was actually a friend of his.

“I agree, Mark has some serious talent in making creative coffee recopies and it used to be my favorite, but now CC Jitters is the one.” HR was explaining with such an interest, that Caitlin could swear that he is the biggest coffee lover in the world.

“Since you are so passionate about coffee, you should know I used to work at Jitters, and I know many secret recipes and ingredients,” Iris whispered after she looked around in a way to check if someone was spying on them.

HR’s face was adorable from how amazed he actually was and Caitlin barely succeeded to stop the chuckle. It was amusing to see his reaction but she didn’t want to look like she’s mocking him because of his unusually big love towards the famous beverage.

The beeping of Iris’s cell stopped her from the next thing she was about to say, and from the look on her face, what she read wasn’t great.

“Crap we have to go.” She said out of blue, and Caitlin had to admit that the moment she realized they have to go she felt a huge wave of disappointment as she didn’t want to leave him yet. If fate or some weird coincidence made them meet again unexpectedly, it would be a shame to end their meeting like this, right?

Although it seemed like Iris thought the same, Caitlin realized when her friend told her that she should stay and that she and Barry can take care of it since it’s a problem with the ‘venue stuff’. Suddenly, Barry was on his feet, clearly annoyed that there’s another problem “Again?! Come on Iris, we have to go, now!” he already started walking towards the street, and Iris barely managed to keep him.

“Iris, wha..” Caitlin started again, thinking what Iris meant by her staying there, if HR has someplace he needs to be soon, and a bunch of other questions, but Iris was a little too ready.

“Cait we won’t be long, HR will stay with you, right?” the writer barely had time to nod when she continued “See, he’ll stay with you, and you can talk, eat something or whatever you want to do while we are gone..” she had to stop because Barry was already gone and she had to catch up with him “Boy, he’s fast.” She said more for herself before she followed him.

HR and Caitlin stayed there, still looking at the couple that was with them just a minute ago, and the last thing they could hear was Iris’ shouting to them “Have fun guys, we’ll be back soon!”

Iris’ abrupt departure made him realize soon enough that it was something fake, an attempt to leave him and Caitlin alone. " _Poor Barry"_ , he thought, that ten steps away from their table he would learn that nothing was wrong. Something deep inside him was making him grateful that they were given this time, only the two of them. He doesn’t know Caitlin’s friend well, at least not yet, the truth was that something was telling him that he would see her and her fiancé again, but she seemed some kind of matchmaker to him. Her acting in the whole ‘we have to go’ situation needed some more work.

They haven’t met for a while now, as he had decided that it was better not to pursue anything in a fast pace, because maybe that would push her away and he did not want that, that’s for sure. He couldn’t tell he was busy, but his mind was full of thoughts of how he’ll develop further his female character, his effort to do so made him type thousands of words only to press the delete button consecutively afterwards and repeat the process.

But that wasn’t of importance at the moment, not at the park, during his break from the morning jogging that he had the luck to share with his most recent friend - or acquaintance.

Her face was still red, her embarrassment for this small scene that just took place pretty evident. He in the meanwhile, wanted to laugh, but he was trying to keep it for himself in order not to make it more difficult as it already seemed to be for her. Despite all that, once they looked at each other, his previous effort to not let his laughter out and her embarrassment were now gone, both of them equally aware of what had just happened.

“I am sorry, she just..”, Caitlin started apologising to him.

“Don’t be. I can just leave and you can go find them in the next corner that they’re probably waiting for you”, he was being serious, moving his hand on the table to grab his iphone with the still plugged in white earphones and the bottle of water that was at the half by now.

“No, don’t!”

That came out in a different way, one that she did not predict, but she was lucky that he was being nice and gentle, and he wouldn’t comment on it.

As much as what Iris did, calling him to join them and then leaving them alone, was something that brought her in a weird position, she was enjoying his company so far, and since her friend gave her that chance, she didn’t intend on wasting it. Nothing could go in the wrong way, just two people having a friendly – still unidentified what kind is it – talk.

“Okay then”, he fixed his sitting position on the bench, waiting for her to say something and she did as he expected her to.

“Last thing I expected today was finding you running at this park. I thought I would just decide on Iris and Barry’s wedding interior décor”, her last few words coming with a smile on her face.

“Oh, so they are getting married?”, he asked.

“Yes, in a couple of months”, she confirmed.

“They really have the glow of the soon-to-be-married couple”, he admitted. It was just what he had noticed, not that it wasn’t pretty clear in the few minutes he talked with them.

“Yes, they do”, she couldn’t help but smile, playing with her hands at the same time, her index left finger and thumb were making invisible circles around her right ring one. A smile that soon enough died, her face saddened, and she looked away, at the random people who were walking around at the park, her gaze focused for a second to a toddler holding a red balloon amongst them, trying to hide this moment of vulnerability from him.

All the pre-wedding memories of her and Ronnie passed in front of her eyes in a flash. How they had that previously mentioned glow, how excited she was for everything, how she couldn’t wait for the big day only for it all to be ripped away from her from one moment to another. She knew what living it with Iris from the start would do to her, but she could never deny being with her in such a big moment of her life. It proved to be a test for her strength, as she was still fighting with it and there are times she asks herself if the day she wins this battle will come. For now, Caitlin has learnt to live with it, knowing that there is no changing what happened, continuing her modest and uptight life, carrying a piece of it in her every day, although it still hurts, after all that time.

He was quick to observe the change of her facial expression, as well as her hands’ movements, but he decided that it’s better to keep his thoughts for himself. At least for now. It was still kind from his side though to ask her if she was okay. Coming back to the present, she only nodded and let a small ‘yeah’ as her answer. She did not seem like she really was but he had to just accept her reply as it was.

“That’s why you’re not in your usual rush? I mean, you always have to go in any other case.”

“Haha, yeah..I took the morning off to help them with some stuff for their upcoming wedding. You see, as her best friend, Iris chose me as her maid of honor, so, I have to be with them for all the preparation”, her face lightened again, sounding excited and this time he had to tell her what he had in mind.

“You women get excited about this kind of things”, he liked seeing the smile on her face. It was just making her even more beautiful.

“I don’t know, I am just glad I am part of this chapter of their life. They deserve all the happiness.”

“Everyone does”, he replied and looked her in the eyes, which made it get a deeper meaning, without saying it out loud. The thing is that he was right. And they both knew it. Each of them with a real life story to confirm it. The time they'll share them will come, sooner or later.

The few seconds of silence ended fast as he brought back some of her previous words.

“Aaand.. For your information doctor Snow, I wasn’t expecting to find you or your lovely friends here this morning as well. I guess I made a good choice and didn’t go to the beach for running.”

“At the beach huh?”

“Yeah, why, is something wrong with it?"

“Nothing, quite the opposite actually, I like running by the beach.”

“Now that's something I didn't expect”

“And why’s that, if I may ask?”

“I just thought you're one of the ladies who are hitting the gym’s treadmill every once in a while.”

“That’s where you make a mistake. You know, the sea’s blue is beneficial to both mind and body, considered to have a calming effect to the majority of people and also helps the metabolism work better.”

She understood she did her doctor babbling again as he was with a partially open mouth, but she waited for him to speak.

“Wow..Spoken like a true doctor!”, he laughed at that and she followed him, flattered a bit by his comment.

He continued, clearly amazed by her,

“Ahh! I knew that there was a reason that I liked the beach!”

“There is always a scientific explanation behind everything, even in the simplest, everyday things.”

I trust you doc”, he said with a funny accent that made her laugh. Probably it was a movie impression of his, one she wasn’t aware of.

“I don’t know, I just like running. It is a part of my lifestyle, beach or this park, depends on the day ”, he spoke again.

“This park? Feels like it’s special”

“I live nearby, so it’s easy for me to just come here ”

“You live nearby? You’re full of surprises indeed.”

And what’s the unbelievable in this?”

“I thought a guy like you would probably own one of the biggest apartments downtown. I mean, you’re the 'famous romance mystery writer HR Wells'”, she made a shoe of saying this title of his.

He low-key liked the way she said his name, that she knew that it was coming with specific recognition, something that he wasn’t exactly sure he believed. He always thought that he was a middle-class writer, with a great number of purchases when his books were coming out, always counting the town’s data. It’d be hard for someone in another state to tell who he is. Let’s not talk about Europe. But that did not matter, he was already grateful for the success that he had found here and he wouldn’t trade it. He would keep writing, sharing his stories with and for all the romantic souls out there.

“Here’s the thing, I really wanted an apartment downtown, but the real estate agency never showed me something good enough. Unlike this place. It's not the suburbs, but not the heart of the city either. It is quiet, the area is more beautiful for my taste. Basically, let’s say that the apartments in the centre…suck”, he admitted.

“Heeyy!”, Caitlin pretended to be offended, just wanting to tease him.

“But not your apartment! I am pretty sure it’s nice. I mean, you live there, of - of course it’s nice”, he started rambling, feeling a bit of an idiot with what he previously said.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t take it personally”, she smiled at him, showing that she really meant her previous words. “Nice choice living here, I could never deny you that.”

“I have lived here since day one. In a different neighborhood, but yeah, this part of the city is the one I grew at.”

“So I take it that your family lives around here as well?”

“No. Not after my dad’s retirement. They moved back to Chicago”, he told her and with a funny tone he continued, “But my mom always makes frequent and unexpected visits, so I do not miss them or anything.”

“Hmm, that’s nice”, she felt comfortable enough with their talk so she decided to share it. “well, I used to live in this area myself.”

“You don’t say, come on!”, now it was his turn to not believe her, but he was mostly amazed how they have this thing in common.

“Yeah, but not for long, I think it was till I was eight. and then we moved to the suburbs."

He was listening to her, nodding in understanding. 

"But I don't remember much of this place, I'd easily get lost here without asking Siri for directions", she said, joking about it. How much could she possibly remember of her old neighborhood, she was just an eight year old when they left. But she still had a few great images and memories in her head, some of them she will never let go...

"If you're up for it, I can be your free tour guide whenever you want, just send me a text!", his answer came and he was serious. He'd like to have a walk around this beautiful place with her.

"Enticing offer Mister Wells, I should think about it", she continued playing their travel agency game.

"It's exclusive, and maybe limited, make up your mind soon", he sent her a wink.

"Okay, okay, I'll let you know!", she started to laugh.

"I'm kidding, just know that I'm here for that", his face mirrored his words.

"Thanks", which came with a small sincere smile.

Same person who made this conversation of HR and Caitlin to start, marked the end of it, as Iris approached the table she was sitting at thirty minutes ago. Barry was a few steps back from her, feeling uncomfortable that they had to take Caitlin from there.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything", Iris made her presence known to the couple.

"No... Ummm, time to go?", Caitlin asked her friend.

"I am sorry but yeah", her face straightened, feeling a bit guilty now for interrupting them indeed.

With a handshake, Iris said goodbye to HR, saying how lovely it was having him as their company. At the same time, Barry hearing everything raised his arm and waved his palm. HR nodded with a smile.

Iris now joined her fiancé, leaving the writer and the doctor again at their somehow privacy. Wearing her purse bag back on, it was Caitlin's time to say her goodbye. 

"It was nice to see you again", she extended her arm to have a handshake with him on her own. 

"The pleasure was mine", he stood up from his seat and his hand touched hers. 

Walking a few steps to leave with her friends, she turned her head, "And hey, don't be a stranger, keep your intentions" and gave him the last smile for today. 

"It's a deal, I'll see you" and he smiled back at her. 

A smile that was still on his face as he watched her walking down the park. He felt lucky. She was the thing that made his day really nice. " _What a good start",_ he thought. He couldn’t describe his Tuesday lonely anymore.

Someone wanted them to meet this morning, that's why he took the route for Tompkins. Was it fate? Stars align? Maybe. He couldn't have known. All he did was that he got to learn more about her and she was feeling nice with him during the time they spent and that she actually wanted him to stay. It might have been out of kindness, but his instinct was telling him something different. It was something that made him happy.

Throwing his now empty water bottle into the blue recycling trash bin, he put his phone in his pocket, the earphones back on his ears and he jogged back home. 

"Iris, you didn't have to do this!", Caitlin told her friend, once they were walking on main street's pavement. 

"Neither of you were grumpy when I came to get you back, so I think it went well!"

"Of course it we- I didn't mean this!" 

"Then what?", Iris was now curious. 

"You don't have to be some kind of cupid for me, I.. I can handle it", Caitlin seemed to have difficulty with her last phrase. 

"Yeah I can see that. I'm not stopping until you get back to the game", the black girl's statement is pretty clear. 

"Let's get you married first and we will see."

To Be Continued...

  



	7. You Helped Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Been a while since last time, but a brand-new chapter is here! It'll be different than the previous ones, as the story starts to enter the 'real' plot. Hope you like it :)

Her five-centimeters-tall black heels were clicking against the sheet vinyl floor; the characteristic sound could be heard even from distance as she walked down the hall of the intensive care department she was working at ever since she got accepted as specialist, four years ago.

Central City’s hospital, or rather the ER part of the building had become her second home, especially the last eighteen months, after her fiancée’s death, as she buried herself to work, spending more hours than the average there, covering some of her colleagues’ shifts or talking with some patient, keeping him or her company, something she was well aware they needed.

She heard from them a lot of stories, some funny, some sad, adventures and jokes. She learnt how they got there, what are their hopes and dreams for life outside this hospital. She was there with them in pessimistic confessions, always trying to make them look on the bright side of things, even if they weren't at that stage. She held their hands, she smiled at them, she made them laugh, constantly wanting to prove to them that she could understand them and that she was the same as them. Seeing them winning whatever they were fighting and had brought them to this position in the first place was her biggest satisfaction and she was always glad to hear that she made their days a bit better by only sitting next to them.

Of course there were the ones who didn’t make it, because life isn’t full of happy stories. She knew that first hand. Caitlin was most of the time blaming herself for losing someone. It wasn't her fault and she was doing whatever she could in every case. It was even harder for her when she had bonded with that person. It might have been a couple of months, but she was guilty for giving false hope despite the impact that it had on their mental health. Patient’s psychology is portraying an important role to his physical health and she acknowledged the benefits coming out from that but it made her feel a liar nonetheless.

She kept doing it though. Coming back every day to this work somehow prepared for what she was about to deal with. Someone would do better, someone would do worse, but what really mattered was that she was there. It wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to do, in fact her job was one of the most challenging ones but no matter the hardships she had to face, she wouldn’t change it. It was all she ever wanted once she got into medical school, and she’ll keep performing it until she has no power left to do so.

Her white scrub coat was reaching her knees, just like her storm-grey dress that was fitting perfectly to her lean body, her name tag hanging on the pocket of the previously mentioned white garment, next to a blue ball pen, much needed to fill her patient’s reports, one of them was in her hand at the moment.

Caitlin would finish her work for today after visiting room 13, occupied by Grace Collins, a teenage girl that was in the hospital for the last two months. Grace was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a severe heart problem that was making the vital organ unable to pump blood to the rest of her body. It was a congenital defect as she was dealing with it ever since she was little. Things were only getting worse through the years though. Noticing the symptoms of fatigue, lightheadedness and difficulty of breathing, the 17-year-old girl was transferred to one of Central City’s icu rooms, for close monitoring. The situation was irreversible from the start, but now the chances of eventual heart failure were higher and the only way for the girl to continue her life was with a healthy heart transplant.

Everyone knows that finding a new heart is a difficult thing. The waiting list was increasing week after week and the average time that a patient waits is six months at least. Grace’s personal doctor, Dr. Sarah Mathews was doing her best for the teenage girl to climb higher in the list and get the new heart as soon as possible.

Putting a smile on her serious face that she had all the time she was walking down the hall, she entered the girl’s room.

“Hey Grace, how are you today?” Caitlin asked her softly.

At the sound of the doctor’s voice, the girl's attention moved to Caitlin, one second before she was zapping from channel to channel, wanting to find something decent to watch. It was a bit odd for a girl at her age only to like being informed about the matters in the world from BBC’s news or learning new things from random documentaries.

“Hi Caitlin. I am fine, I think. I mean how fine can I be when I am here” Grace’s reply came.

She was addressing Caitlin as ‘Dr. Snow’ at the start, just like her name tag but it was something that Caitlin didn’t want her to do. She wanted her to see her as a friend that takes care of her, and not the big bad doctor that she has to talk to in plural number out of formality.

“Be a little patient Grace, you’ll be out of here in no time and all this will be a bad memory”, Caitlin tried to be optimistic and encouraging towards the girl, knowing how that brings her comfort.

“Then, will I get the new heart soon?”, the girl asked with curiosity. 

“What Dr. Mathews told you?”

“That there is progress and I will soon have the transplant”, Grace indirectly transferred her doctor’s words.

“Hold on to that”, Caitlin said and she smiled at the girl.

Moving towards one of the many machines the brunette doctor started working on her paper report on Grace’s status board, blue-inked letters forming words that would fill the gaps.

“The tv sucks, I think I have watched soap operas enough for a lifetime”, the girl complained.

Caitlin let out a chuckle at that, “Sorry, national TV isn’t Netflix.”

“I know,” the girl let out a sigh, “I guess I’ll call mom to bring me some books and my tablet with Netflix subscription here.”

“When did she leave?”

“About 10 minutes ago, she needed a coffee, and a shower. She’ll be back in an hour.”

“I can stay with you for as long as you want me to, always remember that”, Caitlin said sincerely, still working on writing down stuff.

“Thank you. I appreciate that. But…”

“But… what?” Caitlin was curious to know what she wanted to say.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend to come home to?” The girl felt a bit uncomfortable for even thinking of that question but she knew that the doctor would never take it the wrong way.

“No, sad single here”, Caitlin was honest with the teenager.

“What a shame, I thought that women in your age have it all by now.”

“First, like I have told you I am not _that_ old and second, I guess it needs more time to come for me, because things like that come themselves at the right time. And I’m patient”, the adult of the room shared with the younger girl.

“That guy will be so lucky, I am sure.”

Caitlin could only smile at that. She never told her about her tragic past with the death of her fiancée and neither did she plan to do so. The girl was dealing already with enough stuff, she seemed better without knowing that about Caitlin. They could discuss many things, about Grace’s life before and after she gets out of the hospital, random incidents in their lives, and it was enough for the girl to have a bit of company in the afternoons. For Caitlin, she was her little friend and she was enjoying listening to a younger person talking, realizing everyday that things have slightly changed since she was at her age. Maybe it was making her feel a bit old, despite the fact that there was only a thirteen years age difference between the two parties. 

Grace was a contagious teenage girl, with dreams and a great view in life. It was radiating out of her blue eyes and Caitlin was admiring that despite the misfortune that was chasing her after ever since her birth, she was still smiling and complaining about the shows on TV. She couldn’t recall herself being like that in her age even though she wasn’t dealing with such a hardship, fighting for her life, like Grace currently is.

Everyone needs someone to talk to, to feel nice when he has to face difficulties, and Caitlin was just trying to be there for this girl as much as she could. Of course she wasn’t her mother, she couldn’t even imagine how that woman feels and truth was, it terrified her to her bones when thinking of it. Yet, she could be a friendly figure that will be remembered from Grace and even if she was the ‘nice doctor lady’, it meant a great deal.

After approximately thirty minutes, Caitlin thought it was time to leave the girl alone, the dinner time would come and the nurse would bring her a decent amount of food, right as it was suggested by the doctors, although a lot of vitamins were entering her system already through the iv connected at her elbow. Asking Grace if she’s going to be okay until her mom comes back and getting a positive answer to that, she smiled at her and emerged from the room.

With that Caitlin had finished her job for today and since there were no special plans for the night, she would head home, shower and eat something that wasn’t pizza pockets.

Before she heads out for the day though, she had to leave her yesterday’s report of Grace to the reception desk, after she had studied it a bit and separately wrote her own observations, for Dr. Mathews to take it the next morning.

It was probably one of the worst parts of her day, when thinking about who was behind that desk, but she had to handle the documents there, so it wasn’t like she had any other choice.

Walking towards it, she placed the chart on the desk, “For Dr. Mathews, Grace Collins’ report of yesterday”, her tone serious, no intention to exchange any words with the man behind it.

“You can say a ‘hi’ you know”, the blonde tall man spoke.

“Only if I want to”, her cold answer back.

“Acting like a b-witch, not your style Caitlin.”

“Well, you made me to.”

This must have been the longest talk she had with him after what happened between them. The man in question, Hunter Zolomon, the seemingly nice and perfect guy at the reception desk. Hunter seemed to have some kind of crush on her since her day one, something she had chosen to ignore from the moment she realized it. As much as his physique and characteristics were what most women would find attractive, she was not interested in him. He was definitely older, a thing pretty easy to deduce from his face. Later at her relationship with Ronnie, in a talk they had about him, he confirmed to her that this guy was at this position for more than five years.

Her mind drifted off for a while to that night, something that was happening almost every time she was seeing Hunter.

_Caitlin finished her shift a bit later than usual, but she didn’t mind it. It wasn’t like she had someone to go home to for the last five months. She could feel the exhaustion on her body, a headache pretty evident as well, but she hadn’t found any time to stop and take an aspirin to deal with it. She would reach home in around twenty minutes and have a hot shower that would make everything better. With that thought in mind she proceeded to complete the last task of the day, handling the file of a patient for the head doctor to receive the next day. Only things didn’t go as she had planned them to._

_Reaching the counter, the familiar man standing behind it was nowhere to be seen. Looking around, the only person she could place at the large space was her._

_“Looking for me?”, a deep husky voice could be heard from behind._

_Turning around, Caitlin spotted the man she was in search of._

_“Umm, yeah, those are for Doctor Park”, she extended her hand to give him the documents, “give them to her when she comes.”_

_“Okay”, the man let out._

_They stood in awkward silence, when she felt him coming closer and she instinctively stepped back. One step forward, one step back, until her backside touched the three and a half feet tall counter. He leaned in, the distance between them decreasing every passing second._

_“What are you doing?”, she asked in a trembling tone._

_“I know you want it”, he whispered._

_“Get off me!”, she yelled, pushing him away. The hall was empty, no one could really hear her._

_Finding enough power to move away, she slapped him on the face and started to run towards the exit. Luckily, he didn’t follow her to the elevator._

_Three minutes later she reached her car and locked herself in it. She leaned her forehead on the steering wheel and started crying, unable to forget the firm touch of his hands on her cheeks. In some other reality, the last sentence standing alone would sound romantic, but in this case, far from it. She never wanted that and she definitely didn’t expect that he would reach thus far. After her fiancé’s death, Hunter possibly thought that something would happen between them, that it was his chance to win her and that Caitlin wanted to be back in the ‘market’ again. The thing is, none of that proved to be true. She had never given him any right to do that, or any sign she was interested in him, leaving him be since she met him. But it seemed like his patience had reached its boiling point and he decided to act on her, attempting to kiss her against her will._

_She never wanted that and she definitely didn't expect that he would almost assault her at their workplace in the night. It was one of the worst things she could ever experience, and she was wondering where this impregnability came from._

_Gathering herself, she carefully drove back home, heading straight for a shower, wanting to wash herself off his touch, her face becoming red from the brushing. Her salty tears were joining and becoming one with the hot water drops pouring out of the shower's microphone, her small sobs getting lost in the sound of the water hitting the floor. She had lost Ronnie, now this..._

_She curled up at her couch, avoiding her bed, wanting to feel the warmth of the fire flames, holding her remaining tears. What had happened a couple of hours ago wasn’t anything she could easily deal with. She had heard stories of women who have experienced that kind of assault in their workplace, but she could never imagine herself becoming one of them. She didn't want to tell anybody about what happened, at least not now. Hundreds of questions ran in her head. How the next day at the hospital would be, how would she even face him, what if he attempts to do it again or hurt her? She was scared of him. Only the mere thought of it, seeing Hunter again was terrifying._

_The next day came and the strength she gathered when she was about to see him again must have been extraordinary, like some cold alter ego of her had taken over, not really knowing herself. But he actually apologized, saying that he was sorry for doing that and he realized it the moment her hand slapped him, asking her to not talk about it to anyone, or he would lose his job, which at the time seemed tempting to her, not having to face him every day, but at the same time, she proved herself to be strong enough. She will never forgive him for what she did to her, and she actually wouldn't give him that pleasure. It was a way to remind him that what he did was unacceptable in any way, every time she was encountering him for the sake of the job._

Back to the present, Caitlin was about to sign for the end of her shift when she heard her iPhone's characteristic message notification sound. Signing up faster, she retrieved the device from her white robe's pocket, seeing a pleasant surprise. It was a message from HR, that not only lit up her screen but her face as well, something that was immediately noticed by the man opposite her. Opening the message, she read,

_"Trying to keep my intentions, see you in jitters?"_

It made her smile and she liked how it was reminding of their last talk at Tompkins Square Park, about his pure intentions of sharing coffee with her. 

She typed her reply fast, her lips still jerked upwards. 

_"I'll be there in 30 minutes ;)"_ and it was something that excited her, as it had been solid five days since she last talked to him. There were still the 'hi', 'goodmorning', 'goodnights' that they were exchanging, but nothing can ever beat sharing a coffee with a nice company such as HR's. 

"I guess I just wasn't the one", Hunter brought her back from wherever her mind was travelling, but she just chose not to talk with him and walked out. 

  
20 minutes after her reply, HR found himself once again in the popular coffee shop. It was a little more crowded than the previous times when he visited, but he thought it’s probably because he wasn’t here at night.

The atmosphere was still nice and the smell of fresh-brewed coffee made him take a deep breath through his nostrils, as he immediately remembered why he liked this place so much.

He was grateful that there were still a few free tables and he chose the one next to the window, deciding that he’ll wait for her to join him before he orders.

It’s been a few days since their unexpected encounter in the park when she basically told him to not be shy and call her to go for a coffee, so today was the day to keep up to his intentions. He was really glad that she said that because he was constantly bothered with fear that he’s just a burden to her so he tried to give her space. And she pleasantly surprised him at the end, letting him know that she enjoys his companionship equally as he enjoys hers.

HR’s eyes suddenly drifted off to a man in probably his mid 20s, working something on his laptop a few tables from him. If someone else was watching him, the first thought would be that he is studying or just doing something business-related, but not HR.

Something in the way the young man was clearly struggling reminded HR of his own problems when he’s trying to write a particular part of the story that just doesn’t want to come out how he planned.

Unfortunately, the last few months that was happening more than ever, and for the first time in his life, he was on the verge of asking himself if there’s still a future in the writing world for him? Did he lose his spark along with his inspiration? Will he ever be able to come back to what he once was?

Another glance at the young man had him thinking if changing the surrounding environment and coming here to write a chapter or two would help.. probably not, but he doesn’t have anything to lose, so maybe he’ll consider that option soon.

But that's for some other time, because right now the reason for his coming here was much more pleasant and it just walked through the glass door.

Stunning as always, Caitlin Snow entered the Jitters, her eyes quickly searching for him before he was spotted and continued walking after she smiled. She seemed a bit tired, but that was no surprise, considering how difficult and challenging her job can be, HR thought.

Suddenly, she was almost in front of him, and he startled himself from thinking, and stood up so he could pull out the chair for her, which earned him another smile from her, but this time with a dose of surprise and maybe even a subtle blush.

“I hope you didn’t wait too long.” She said after removing her coat, and he had enough time just to say that he just got there before the young waitress was already next to them, ready to take their orders.

He took his standard espresso and she caught him off guard when she asked for the classic, strong black coffee.

“Wow, that’s kinda surprising,” he said in his actually normal tone, indicating that he doesn’t know her that well to know her coffee preference perfectly, but something was telling him that black coffee wasn’t her favorite.

“What can I say, long day, I need it.”

“Yeah, I can only imagine.” He said honestly before a fascinated smile spread across his face “Tell me, how many lives doctor Snow saved today?”

“You watch too many med TV shows, don't you?” she chuckled and he did the same, but the look in his eyes was telling her that he still wanted to hear her answer for a hidden simple question of how she spent her day.

“It’s not always rush hour like in the ER, but it’s still exhausting, you know?” he nodded at her, immediately focusing all of his attention to what she was saying, after both of them thanked the same girl from a few minutes earlier who now came back with their drinks.

“I’m sorry, you don’t need me babbling about my job now.” She said, feeling a bit bad out of sudden but he was fast to assure her that there’s nothing wrong with that.

“No, don’t say that I would really like to know how you spent your day.” He took his mug and gently clicked it against hers, with that smile back on his face, and she just had no choice but to believe him, because she could see honesty like radiating from his eyes. That he really wanted to hear about her day.

Wrapping her fingers around the mug, she nodded, a tiny smile forming on her pretty face and she started talking.

“Okay.. today was quieter, I spent most of the day checking on the patients who are in the intensive care department, they are there for a while already, and…” she paused like she was trying to find the right way to say what she wanted “some of them are not in that serious condition, but some of them are, and, they are fragile you know? They are spending their days in the hospital room, thinking how every day could be their last and there’s not much we can do, but I’m still trying to at least make it a little bit easier to them..”

HR wasn’t blinking as he listened to the young woman talking.

“Maybe that’s not life saving, but I’m there, talking with them, listening to their questions and all kinds of stories...”

“It is.” He said suddenly, and she moved her eyes from the table to look at his face “It is life saving. Having someone to listen to you, and just care for you… that’s sometimes more important than all the science and medical expertise in the world. And you Caitlin are doing both of it.”

“I mean, talk with you saved me from a boring morning in the park, and now from the boring night in the city. So, you saved one life two times already.” He grinned when he put his mug back to the table, and she couldn’t resist but return the smile, because he always knew how to balance between making the talk serious and adorably funny.

“You really are a smooth talker, you know that right?” Caitlin laughed at him and then she thought about maybe telling him more. She didn’t plan it at first, but he really showed her how there’s no trace of pretending in him. He truly wanted and knew how to listen to her, so she decided to just go with it.

“There’s one girl, Grace…” she started, and he switched back to the careful listener once again. “She’s 17, and she is beautiful, smart, and just a great person already. But of course, life isn’t always pink, and she’s for a while now in the hospital waiting for the new heart.”

She could see by his reaction that he wasn’t exactly prepared to hear that, but she couldn’t blame him, 17 years old girls were usually going to school, hanging out with their friends all the time, not waiting in the hospital to get a new heart. But that was the cruel reality.

“And how is that going?” he asked, not thinking too much about it, and then afraid that his question is too blunt, he rushed to correct himself “I mean, I know how hard that is especially for the doctor, waiting for one life to end so the other can continue..”

“Don’t worry, I understand what you meant.” She assured him “Grace’s doctor said that things are not bad, she is on the top of the list, and as you said, the ugly part is coming after that, waiting for one life to end, so that she can begin her own.” Caitlin agreed with his statement, but she had more to add to it “But, if the worst happened, and someone lost his life in a tragic way, the best thing we can do from that is to try to save another life. In this case a young girl’s life. Girl with plans for the future, who just needs a chance to be able to fulfill them.” And then she suddenly stopped talking, when she noticed how he was looking at her.

“What?” she asked, a bit embarrassed and worried that maybe she overstepped the line.

“Nothing, it’s just...You are great, you care so much for her and that’s wonderful.”

Caitlin was just staring at him, not sure what to say because she expected literally everything except hearing from him saying something like that. she had to admit that she felt unusually flattered and happy, but still, she was the one who doesn’t really know how to accept praise or the compliment, so she just left out a shy giggle, and cleared her throat before she spoke again. This time trying to find a little happier topic.

“Tell me, how is your book going? Is there anything new on the way to the stores?” She was clearly interested in the newest work of HR Wells, after all, it’s been a while since she read his latest book.

“Ughh, if that was the attempt to lighten up the mood, I hate to inform you but it’s a failure.” He said, but he was still laughing, maybe trying to turn it into a joke.

“Why is that?” Caitlin wanted to know.

“I just feel like I hit a dead end. I spent months trying to write this new book, and all I have is a raw description of the main character. I don’t even have the name yet.”

“The HR that wrote ‘Hard love’ wouldn’t just give up. I know that man can write another breathtaking book.” Caitlin said honestly, and it actually surprised him a bit, but in a good way, because this was proof that they came a long, long way from their first encounter.

“Thank you, for saying that, but… I don’t want to give another half failure like ‘Separated lives’ to my readers. They don’t deserve that.” It was the first time that he let his anxiety speak through him in front of someone, but luckily, Caitlin knew how to deal with it.

“You just need to find your way back to your old writing. Maybe even to the emotions you felt back then, before ‘Separated lives’. I know that’s easier said than done, but you should at least try.”

“I would really like to do that, but I still don’t know how.. I’m not even sure I know what’s the main thing that destroyed ‘Separated lives’.” And then suddenly an old thought came back to him. The one he planned to ask her when he first met her in this same coffee shop, but they got interrupted so he just let it go.

Part of him still thought it’s a mistake, but the bigger part really wanted to hear her opinion. Also, this time the fear of her misunderstanding him was drastically decreased, so he just decided to go with it.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” he simply started with that, and when she nodded at him, he took a breath and then asked his question.

“Back to our famous first meeting,” he motioned with his fingers, and chuckled, causing her eyes to widen and chuckle too at the thought of it, “you said it had too much drama… so, can you help the stupid guy here?” he laughed nervously, still not sure what to expect.

“First of all, I’m gonna ignore your last sentence.” She said in the bossy tone, the one he didn’t hear before, “and second, you want m-my opinion?” now that was something he did not expect, the actual trace of fangirling in doctor Caitlin Snow. He would lie if he said he wasn’t flattered by that, but that wasn’t the reason why he asked her. The real reason was that he knew that she would be 100% honest, but also because he thought that her advice can really help him.

“Yes Caitlin, I want your opinion. If you want to share it of course.”

“Okay..” she definitely didn’t think she will be doing this, but here she is, giving her personal opinion to the writer she likes about his latest book.

“The way you wrote your main character, Kevin, after Susan left him,” he nodded when she looked at him for some kind of confirmation, “It’s like it wasn’t you who was writing anymore. You made it too dramatic, too hurtful, and from what I understood, you made it like he was the only one to blame even though that wasn’t true.”

“I, I did?” He was actually surprised and unaware of this. How, he had no answer.

“Yes. she was the one who left him because she wanted a different life, it wasn’t his fault. I don’t know why you made him blame himself that much, and so desperately wishes for her to come back.. if you ask me, it would be much better if you made him actually blooming for the better after she left him.”

HR was listening to her carefully, and then he felt like the pieces of the puzzles started connecting in his mind. Is it possible that he projected his feelings after his divorce into the book? It wasn’t his intention, he would never want his life drama to be part of the imaginary world he’s creating, but, what if he did it unconsciously?

In that period he was hurt, everything was falling apart and he couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But the book needed an ending, and he used his pain to write it.

But what surprised him the most, is that there’s the possibility that he’s actually blaming himself even more than he thought, and when he looked at it now, it was true. He kept telling himself that there are always two sides to blame, that both of them are responsible, but deep inside, he was torturing himself. Thinking how he should be better, smarter, how he should be more, and maybe then she wouldn’t leave him…

He must be really lost in his thoughts when he actually noticed Caitlin waving her hand in front of him.

“Hey, is everything okay? I’m not the best person to give you this kind of advice, I’m sor..” but he suddenly interrupted her.

“Actually Caitlin, I think you already helped me.” He was still surprised by this recent discovery, but actually very excited to find maybe more.

“I saw some muffins that look absolutely delicious, and I’m a bit hungry, are you interested?” he asked her suddenly, his smile was back, and she smiled right back.

“Sounds good. Blueberry for me.” And with that, he left her alone while he went to get them a snack. Looks like this conversation just began, Caitlin thought as she sipped her coffee again with a smile... 

  
To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes Grace and Hunter... Two new characters that will play important role in the snowells relationship, each one on his own way. They will be around for a while, but hopefully, their presence will help story's progress. 
> 
> Posting this chapter had been (and still is) very anxiety-provoking for both of us, as we included some less pleasant stuff. We are open to any kind of feedback, either via kudos or comments. So, what are your thoughts? Good, bad? Let us know. Untill next time.


	8. Lucky charm

“Thank you”, she voiced the polite expression towards the middle-aged taxi driver as she stepped out of the yellow-colored vehicle that she randomly picked outside her workplace.

On any other occasion, she would park her Mini outside her favorite coffee shop and proceed to her meeting with her newest friend, HR, but not today. Her car had other plans for her since it decided to not move a single meter in the morning. Iris was her ‘free driver’ as she joked earlier. 

Looking back on everything that has happened to her in the span of seventy-two hours, Caitlin started to believe that some bad luck wave was following her. A series of unfortunate events took place and as crazy as it sounded, it was true and there were facts to prove this belief of hers.

As much as she loved the exercise and wanted to take the stairs moving from floor to floor, climbing with her heels at ten o’clock in the night till the sixth one that her apartment is located was far from ideal. The elevator was under renovation as she was informed by the doorman when she entered her building, so all residents of the flat had to use the stairs for the next three days, engineer’s best guess. It might wasn’t the best thing for her to come tired after work and train that way, but she was worried about the older neighbors of hers that should complete the same task, one of them Mrs. Simmons and her husband, living right next to her. She made a mental note to ask the lovely elderly couple if they’re in need of something the next day.

Later that night, she found herself groaning in pain when her toe stumbled at her nightstand after she had just applied her night skincare, unaware of her slightly wrong direction while thinking that she had to buy a new hand cream next time she goes to the cosmetics store, rubbing her hands with the last shot of it that moment. The previously mentioned skincare didn't prevent the annoying ugly pimple to make an appearance on her soft clean white face either way, she almost left a curse under her breath at the sight of it on the mirror.

Another exhibit of the misfortune was her car which needed a visit to the service this very morning. She hated when this happened, for two reasons. The first had to do with her being another lady who calls in not really knowing what’s the matter with her car and second that not being able to drive at her hospital by herself was altering her fixed schedule. Letting Iris know of the recent car trouble, her best friend offered to drive the doctor to her job and save her from the effort of picking a taxi or wait at the station of the underground or the bus. The dark-skinned reporter made a promise of picking Caitlin at night and returning her home as well.

Following the pattern of annoying events, she got herself embarrassed when entered a patient's room without a pen to fill her report. She was always carrying one with her, right inside the front pocket of her scrub, but in a way she couldn't really explain, that pen was nowhere to be found, her hand digging her empty pocket with no outcome. She was taking her job very seriously, knowing her responsibility and purpose, and yet, a simple thing, losing her pen, seemingly stupid for the majority, got into her, made her upset, asking herself how could this be possible. The same question remained unanswered when her peckish feeling for strawberry jello was unsatisfied. An energy bar worked for her though. 

Maybe she should start listening to Iris and blame her star sign and the planets for the not so great days she's been having. It wasn't in her lifestyle to believe in that kind of stuff, the years she spent studying facts and examples and the scientific background of her job had her standing distant from that. It just was what it was, everyone's having a bad day, or three, in her case, and this was just another challenge for the tough cookie she always thought she was, finally finding herself intimidated by the unlucky incidents. 

She actually was happy that her shift ended earlier, one of the patients was released from the intensive care wing after the mutual agreement of her and the head doctor, which made her believe that this storm passed and everything will get back to normal, only for her to open her phone and having an unseen message from her best friend sent forty minutes ago informing her that she cannot give her a lift tonight after following a lead for her newest project article. Iris was known for getting passionate with her work, taking risks all under the name of wanting to bring the truth to the surface. Caitlin knew how much it meant for her friend, so she could never be mad at her or anything similar. She would be mad at the universe for putting her through this, it wasn't a big deal for her to pay ten dollars and get a taxi, she didn't work herself over that, but the fact that her perfectly organized life was in a stage of mess. 

She was in need of something to make her smile, or someone, and it was when her hand almost unconsciously typed a text message to HR for their established coffee meeting at Jitters. The pair of friends was having caffeine beverages two or three times per week for the last fifteen days, depending on their schedule and it almost became a habit for them. Sitting opposite each other for an hour or two, they found themselves discussing various topics, from the way they spent their days to random personal stories, such as how Caitlin found herself sleeping one night at Central City's library over organic chemistry books and her notes. 

If she was being honest with herself, really and deeply, this man was always lighting her day and making her feel better no matter how knackered she was from her work before, no matter what troubled her. She liked, admired even, how he could bring out her not organized and always punctual self ending up confabulating claptrap the way he did with such ease. His companionship was only provoking positive feelings and she was beyond thankful that he was her friend, who could say the silliest of things to see the grin on her face. 

She walked the short distance from the taxi to the coffee shop, the light breeze hit her face, quite normal weather for late May. She took a second to think how another winter passed and she would wear t-shirts and tank tops all over again. She wasn't a fan of the summer heat unlike many people, but she still enjoyed the full stars sky with a glass of wine in her hand at her balcony on August nights. 

Reaching her destination, she opened the glass door, her nostrils forthwith filled with the strong aroma of coffee that was lingering in the air. She utterly loved this smell and combined with the warm shades of brown of the café, she could feel herself relaxing after the tension of her work.

She made her way to the first empty table she found, before checking if her party was there already, the chances of that pretty low, taking into account the fact that HR was living at the other side of the town, as he admitted to her the day she encountered him at the park. Sitting down, she quickly unhooked her black purse from her right arm, took her phone out, and placed it on the wooden surface, pressing the power button to check the time. Two minutes later, she informed the affable waiter that she was waiting for someone, thinking how it'd be impolite to order without the person she was expecting to join her and she couldn't take the initiative to order for him either, even though she knew which drink he liked and how exactly. 

She didn't use to check the door of a place to spot the person she was waiting for, but in this care she did and she wasn't sure if it was safe to admit that to herself. Caitlin wasn't alone for much longer as she spotted the familiar face of the writer, something that made her lips quirk up into a smile. HR seemed to have the same reaction. 

"Hi", was the man's first word for tonight.

"Having the girl waiting, not the right impression Mr. Wells", Caitlin decided to welcome him with a tease. 

"Then I guess I'm paying for the coffees", his answer right back. 

They both chucked at that and Caitlin knew that she would get the nice break she was seeking from the bad luck that was chasing her lately. She hoped nobody would spill coffee over them, or bring the wrong ones. The truth was she never knew what to expect. 

After a cup of Jitters latte for her and one latte and one espresso for HR, Caitlin noticed that the place became much less crowded than when she arrived since it was getting late and it was workday. She would happily stay longer, but the truth is that she needed a few precious hours of sleep.

He was understanding like always, and after he covered their bill, not entirely because of his comment when he arrived, but because she requested it around 10 days ago _“One time it’s on you, the other on me, I won’t accept it any other way”_ he offered to walk her to her car, but this time she had a different answer.

“Oh, I don’t have a car.” And after an obvious question on his face, she explained it better “I mean I do have it but it's been at the mechanic since this morning.”

“Is it something serious?” his tone was meaningful.

“They said it’s not and it was supposed to be fixed quickly but they had a crowded schedule so I will pick it up tomorrow afternoon.” She said as she reached for her phone and started scrolling through contacts “I’m just gonna call the cab, it will be here soon, you don’t have to wait.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’ll drive you home.” He said without any second thoughts, and even though one part of Caitlin was somehow sure he would suggest that, the other part was still surprised.

“Thank you for the offer, but no, besides, it’s not actually that far away so I could even walk home, but I’m just way too tired, so the taxi will do.”

He watched her explaining why there’s no need to drive her home, and ignored the full explanation before he tried a different approach “Are you afraid I might be a serial killer so you don’t want to tell me where you live?” he tried to keep his face straight but his eyes were almost laughing.

“You are impossible.” Caitlin chuckled and he smirked in an adorable way and continued “Come on, I’m way too cute to be one.”

That he really is, Caitlin thought but didn’t say it out loud, (she would never hear the end of it from him if she did) instead, she only smiled sweetly and accepted his offer with “Then I hope you are a good driver.” While she was placing her phone in the pocket of the black leather jacket she was wearing.

“Oh please, I’ve watched all the _Fast & Furious _movies.” He said it with a smirk, like that should actually give her the idea of his driving skills, but he did chuckle at the end before he opened the coffee shop door for her and they stepped outside.

The mention of the movie franchise brought Caitlin back the memories of her and Iris having a _Fast & Furious_ marathon at home just a few years after they both finished college.

“I like these movies, you know.” She said out of blue.

“ _Fast & Furious_?”

“Yeah, Iris and I were hardcore fans once upon a time, and I used to have the biggest crush on Brian O’Conner.” She chuckled, remembering her and Iris fangirling like teenagers through the whole movie.

“If you didn’t tell me that, I would totally guess it.” He laughed teasing her, and she rushed to explain her choice.

“Hmm, handsome, cute, blue eyes, pretty smile, what’s not to like there?” and then it suddenly hit her that the way she just described the movie character she had a crush on could totally be used to describe her companion. Hoping that he wouldn’t say anything to that, she quickly continued talking and hoping that her potential blush won’t be obvious under the street lights.

“Although, Iris was always ‘Toretto girl’ as she used to call herself back in the day”, Caitlin for a second thought how her friend always seemed to have a thing for bad boys and now she is about to marry Barry, who is an actual sweetheart. But then again, she was happy that it turned out that way. Iris deserved someone as kind-hearted as Barry is.

“I think that I am the only one objective here since I’m not choosing by the level of cuteness or hotness, but I would agree with Iris about my favorite from the franchise.” HR was stroking his chin like he was discussing some life-changing subject.

“Okay, since you are driving me home I won’t argue about it.” She grinned as they continued walking to the parking lot.

Once there Caitlin had to admit that she was a little bit surprised since she expected something fancier as his car, or just some other fast and expensive vehicle that a single, rich guy would drive. Instead, she saw a dark grey-almost black Audi SUV. And actually, she was pleasantly surprised… But still, she couldn’t resist teasing him a bit.

“Mr. Wells, this is definitely not _Dodge Charger_ ,” she said with a smirk, acting disappointed.

He didn’t disappoint, as he immediately understood that she was referring to Dominic Toretto’s car from the movie, and he decided to play along.

“I decided to leave it home this time, I don’t want to risk scratching it here, you know?” she was just nodding in a _‘Of course, of course’_ gesture and he continued “Also, this one is more comfortable.” He teased and opened the door for her and she entered the car laughing.

After not more than 10 minutes and him carefully listening to Caitlin’s instructions, they reached the neighborhood he never had the chance to visit, but even now, he could see that it’s a nice one. He parked the car in front of her building, and then suddenly did his best to imitate the GPS voice.

“You reached your destination.” And then he turned off the engine.

“Weird.. your GPS doesn’t have that annoying voice.” She teased and when she turned to look at him he had that stupid adorable grin on his face again, most likely because of her kinda indirect compliment to his voice.

After a few moments of silence, she spoke again “You really didn’t have to do this, thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, really.” The smile never left his face, and she somehow admired him for that, and.. it just looked so natural for him to be happy. “Also, I got to show you what a smooth driver I am.”

“You are not bad, I have to admit.” She giggled again, and before she clicked the lock to open the door, he asked her something.

“See you this Friday?”

“Either Friday or Saturday, I’ll let you know.” And after his nod to that, she left the car.

He started the engine but still remained in place, as he watched her walk a short distance to the building's door. Despite her obvious tiredness, she was still unbelievably graceful, and he was staring without even realizing it.

She snapped him out of it when she turned slightly around and sent him a shy wave and a smile over her shoulder. In return, his grin became even bigger if that’s possible and after her figure disappeared, he finally decided that it was time to leave.

Climbing what felt like million stairs to her apartment, Caitlin was in slight awe how indeed he managed to be something like her lucky charm to break the series of unfortunate events. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but maybe, just maybe he is her _person_ … Thankfully, he’s not going anywhere and she has the chance to discover what it is. Either way, she was happy that he is a part of her life now.

On his way back home, HR turned the radio on and almost immediately started singing along the joyful lyrics.

The smile still denied leaving his face…

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another shorter chapter, but sometimes fillers are needed too :D  
> Either way, we hope you'll enjoy this new little update. Like always every feedback is appreciated and we are thankful in advance. :)
> 
> Stay tuned, more coming soon. <3


	9. Meet Me In Tompkins Square Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tompkins Square Park, Snowells and their childhood memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title taken from the lyrics of "Tompkins Square Park" by Mumford and Sons.

She couldn’t imagine a better way to spend her Saturday afternoon than this. Wiping the annoying tendril of hair off of her face, Caitlin looked at the taller man walking right next to her, sharing a shy smile. 

Her introverted lifestyle changed over the past month, as she could notice herself being out of her house most of her free time, calling Iris for some exit, texting HR to meet over a coffee, and saying ‘yes’ to outings with some fellow doctors. 

Hanging out with HR had been a regular thing to do, everything was so natural and real between them. This was why it was so easy for her to suggest an alternative place to meet him, after thinking about how he was always the one who had to drive more miles to see the other. 

Like that, they found themselves in Tompkins Square Park and the writer was more than happy with the idea, as much as he loved the Jitters coffee. 

The park was full of life, many people, just like them, were taking advantage of the sunny afternoon – it wasn’t much of a surprise as it was June – enjoying the peace and the fresh air that the hundreds of trees around were offering, far from town’s fast weekday rhythms. 

“Last time we were here you were running down the trail”, Caitlin referred to the day they met by accident a couple of weeks ago, when she was with Barry and Iris, helping them with their wedding preparation.

“Yeah, you’re right. Nice change of place”, HR confirmed her sayings digging his hands inside each of his black jeans’ front pockets. 

“I’m still sorry that we got to interrupt you from it back then”, she had a weird need to apologize again.

Looking at her, he let out a laugh.

“Come on, it wasn’t like I was running at the marathon. Besides, I enjoyed your company more than running.”

“You seem like someone who would run in a marathon” she tried not to blush at his confession.

He now chuckled, finding her words funnier than before.

“Do I seem that fit for you?”

She stopped walking for a second. Tilting her head backward and narrowing her eyes, she made a show of scrutinizing him.

He could feel the top of his cheeks turning red, something uncommon for him but her gaze on his frame provoked that reaction.

“Yeah, pretty much”, she voiced the result of her examination. If a man with a tall and lean figure like his was found participating in such an event, wouldn’t be much of a surprise. She recalled him saying that he runs by the beach or the park, which suggested that he was indeed fit. Caitlin was observant in nature so she couldn’t help but notice his well-shaped arms from the t-shirts he started wearing lately as they were into June now, the warmer temperatures justifying the choice of the particular garment.

“Thank you, but I stopped being part of the annual one for a couple of years now. I guess I’ve gotten old.”

“Oh stop it. Next year you have to!”

“Only if you join me”, he quickly realized what he said, booking a date for joining the marathon together for the next year. But thinking of it a bit more thoroughly, something was telling him that twelve months later they would still walk down this park chatting normally, much similar to what they do now. More friendly even. 

“Okay, it’s a deal,” she smiled at him, already liking his proposition.

They were walking further into the park for a few minutes, the silence between them took over and the pair’s eyes were scanning the place, enjoying the peace it was offering.

_“Violet, watch out!”_ , a woman in her mid-thirties standing four feet in front of them yelled out to the young girl on the pink-colored bike that passed right next to Caitlin, constantly ringing the bell placed on the left side of the steering handle.

Caitlin and HR simultaneously looked at each other and smiled after this small incident. But something inside Caitlin changed, the previous ringing bell bringing back memories, memories that hurt every time her mind drifted off to them.

“I used to come here with my dad as a kid as well”, Caitlin’s playful tone was now gone, something that was easily noticeable by the man beside her.

“Really? I recall you saying that you used to live around this town but I didn’t know about this.”

“Just like this little girl, I learned how to ride the bike here.” After a small pause, she continued, “You see that bench over there? With the red wood?”

He nodded after a two-second delay.

“When I was six and I was learning for the first time, I lost my balance, crashed and fell on it.”

“Ouch”, he reacted, thinking how painful it must have been for her.

“Ouch indeed. This scar,” she touched her forehead with her right pointer finger, “is an outcome of seven stitches”

“Wow”, he was pretty much surprised by this fact.

“We sat on it for a minute, pressing a cloth he happened to have in his pocket on my forehead before we went to the hospital and then we were sitting here ever since.”

HR was just listening to her, to what she had to say.

“He called me Humpty Dumpty ever since” and the writer smiled at the sound of her nickname. 

“I am sorry, I just rambled”, she rushed to apologize.

“No, no, no, but… You speak with nostalgia, is he- ”,

“Dead? Yes, he passed a couple of months after my seventeenth birthday”, her reply came pretty fast before he finished his question.

“Caitlin, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s been way too long ago… The time I spent with him will soon be less than the time I’m living without him,” it was breaking her heart to admit that, but it was true. He wasn't there when she got accepted into medical school or when she graduated. When she started working at the hospital, or when Ronnie asked her hand in marriage... There were so many moments she needed him with her, but he couldn't make it. 

"What about your mother?", he asked with a trace of hesitation.

"My mother... That's a long and complicated story."

He nodded and continued to walk with her. When they reached the bench in question, HR suggested they should sit on it for a while. She gladly accepted.

Seeing that her mood is affected by the once happy but now sad memories, HR narrowed his eyes, thinking of his plan, and then slowly got up while offering his hand to her. Caitlin sent him a questioning look but he just gave her a small smile.

“Come on Humpty Dumpty, let’s cheer you up.” Her face immediately softened at his sweet gesture and she accepted his hand, so he can pull her up from the bench.

They continued their walk to the other side of the park, and Caitlin noticed that he’s looking around like he’s searching for something.

“And how are you planning to cheer me up exactly?” she asked playfully, to see if he came up with something because honestly, any distraction would be nice, and that’s exactly when he completed his search and pointed with his thumb to the bright yellow parasol on his right and sweet lady in her 60s standing behind it.

“With ice cream of course!” he said with a huge grin like that’s the most obvious answer in the world.

Sensing what one of her reactions for that will be, he quickly shushed her “Ahhh no, I don’t care how grown-up you are, ice cream always make things better, isn’t that right, Peggy?” he suddenly turned his head, asking the said lady a question and Caitlin could see they know each other very well from the way they were speaking.

“Absolutely!” the woman answered and gave the change to the young girl before she turned her full attention to the pair “Harrison, darling, is so good to see you again! What can I get you?”

Caitlin found it extremely unusual to hear someone calling him Harrison, especially since even the man himself wasn’t using it, so HR became like his real first name. But that just confirmed that the lady, Peggy knows him well.

HR interrupted her thoughts when he spoke again “What’s the best for cheering up?” he asked like there’s an actual pharmaceutical answer for that, and urged her to come closer as well and join him in scanning the available flavors.

“Chocolate without a doubt,” Peggy answered, and Caitlin liked the sound of that so she confirmed, because who doesn’t like chocolate ice cream.

“And vanilla for me, because I’m more than cheered up.” HR couldn’t be quiet for long, something that Caitlin noticed at the very beginning of their hanging outs, and it was just another thing making him special.

“I think that’s your default mode.” Caitlin giggled as she accepted her sweet chocolate cone, and soon, after polite goodbyes, they were walking again.

Caitlin was surprised, thinking about how she almost forgot how this kind of ice cream tastes like and what enjoyment it is eating it. She thought what was the reason for that, and how long it has been since she had simple ice cream just for fun.

The truth was, she couldn’t remember. All that was coming to her is buying a big box in the supermarket, stuffing it in the freezer, and taking it out only when she felt extremely sad.

Maybe it was because she once read that chocolate contributes to an increase in serotonin, and like the doctor she is, she was hoping that the science will help her win the fight against sadness and pain. It didn’t help, and all she got is forgetting how to enjoy one more thing in her life. A simple and maybe silly, yet very important thing. And she didn’t even realize how much she missed it.

Until now, when HR brought it back and it was almost like he brought one long lost part of her back too.

“It feels like I scratched my knee and you bought me ice cream to make it better,” she said in a hilarious tone and he chuckled “but it doesn’t matter, ‘cause this tastes amazing” she commented on the delectable cold dessert. 

“Peggy’s the best, everything is her recipe, and don’t tell anyone, but she told me that the secret ingredient is love.” And he wasn’t kidding, because he knew very well that for everything you do, it can succeed only if you invest not just hard work, but also your love for it. Just like it’s with his books, it’s the same with Peggy’s ice creams.

Caitlin smiled, thinking about how it was unnecessary to say anything since she somehow understood what he meant perfectly, and then returned her attention to the chocolate cone that she was holding.

They stopped by the fountain and HR was telling her the story of how he met Peggy the first year he moved to this part of the city after she asked him if it was common for people to call him Harrison.

He said how he had serious struggles with writing ‘ _ Without you’,  _ and he had a weird phase where his desire for ice cream was raging like that was the fuel for his inspiration. That was when he met a nice and friendly lady since he became a regular customer with running at least 5 times daily to the park to buy ice cream.

After some time she proposed a funny deal to him - to give him one ice cream daily for free until he finishes the book if he names a character after her. HR loved her positivity and always cheerful nature, so he gladly accepted the deal.

Peggy ended up being the mom of the main female character and  _ ‘Without you’ _ was successful just like the previous book but also the next one. And one thing didn’t change from the moment he told Peggy her name  _ – “I’m not calling you HR, so give up and tell me your real name _ .” she said and to this day he is called only Harrison by her.

“You have the talent to make friends wherever you go, huh?” Caitlin smiled when he finished his short story and he swallowed the last part of his cone before answering.

“Only if they are worthy, trust me I have the nose for that kind of stuff,” HR said and her lips formed a light smirk at his kind of praise to her “..even when we have a seeeriously rough start.” He was talking about how their friendship began, with the clear intention to tease her. He winked at her and that’s when Caitlin’s attention was focused on his left eye, or more precisely, his eyebrow with the small scar above it.

“Very funny Mr. charmer” she dismissed his tease with a chuckle and they continued walking once again as she asked him the question.

“I told you mine, now you tell me yours. That scar, how did you get it?” she touched her eyebrow to show him what she meant, and he laughed.

“I guess that’s fair, but only if you promise you won’t laugh. Too much.”

“Scout’s honor.” She raised her hand, already trying to stop the laughter because she was sure that there’s no way to fulfill that promise.

“I was 7 at the time, and I was also, with my dad” he looked at her sadly, but one of her looks was enough for him to know that she’s okay and he can continue without worries.

“My mom had just gotten her new job and it was only the two of us walking in the much smaller park than this one that was not far away from our home. I was holding my brand new basketball ball that I got for my birthday and I was so excited to finally learn something too, and not just keep it in my room.” He chuckled and Caitlin watched him carefully, loving the way he gives himself into telling a story equally like in writing.

“So, dad was a pretty good player and we were on our way to the basketball court. It was still early so no older kids were playing there, and he was showing me some basics, although now that I think of it, he was just showing off..” he chuckled and imitated the moves his dad used to perform.

“Everything was going great, and then, I have no idea how all I could see was the fence railing that was next to the court before I hit it. And my dad was not calm as he ran towards me with a terrified look on his face and faster than I realized we were in the car and on our way to the hospital. But thankfully it was not deep and it needed only 3 stitches.”

“HR, where’s the fun in that?! You could get seriously hurt over there!” The doctor in her reacted since she was dealing with many cuts and wounds while she was just an intern, and she knew how each of them could end if only the angle or the force was a little bit different. Still, HR made a hand movement that told her to wait, since he’s not done with the story yet.

“We came home after everything was done, I had a small bandage but then my dad took a headband and carefully put it on my head to cover it up.” He was already laughing and Caitlin could see where that was going as she giggled too

“Are you serious?”

“He put on a headband hoping that my mom wouldn’t notice! Like it wasn’t in the middle of my face!”

“So, did she buy it?” Caitlin asked through laughter even though the answer was obvious.

“ _'David Robert Wells, what did you do to my boy?!’'_ ” he quoted his mother, “was what he got from her the moment she entered the house and saw me. She needed some convincing to not make him sleep on the couch that night.”

His laughter was contagious and Caitlin laughed even more than she expected she would and spontaneously grabbed his elbow as they were still walking and his eyes almost instantly moved there. But after seeing that she’s completely unaware of what she did, he decided to stay quiet and enjoy this moment of her laughing just a little bit longer. It felt nice, making someone laugh like that, especially after she had a recollection of sad memories just a little earlier.

But what HR didn’t expect is that she will keep her hold on him even after regaining her normal voice, not that he was complaining about it. He could also feel her being closer to his arm and he liked this as well.

Just a few moments later Caitlin reached to remove a strand of hair from her face when she realized that she’s still holding him. Blush spread across her cheeks instantly as her eyes widened and she quickly rushed to put both of her hands in her jeans pockets, feeling like an idiot and hoping that he didn’t realize it either during all this time.

He flashed her a small smile with a smirk, but he didn’t want to make it even more uncomfortable for her so he just decided to put a the conclusion to his story “So, I got the scar, my dad survived since mom realized that the beauty of her son was still intact, and even though I had a rocky start with basketball, I became pretty good.”

“Is that so?”

“Mhm, but my dad still won’t admit I’m better than him, since we almost always play it when either I go to visit them or they come here.” His grin was so pure and happy, and Caitlin was happy for him. Happy that his story had a happy ending in every way as they are still with him. Not letting her emotions coming to the surface again she spoke

“Maybe one day there will be a chance to see that, as long as you don’t fall again?” she teased him and he told her that it’s a deal.

HR bumped his shoulder with hers and curved the corner of his lips into a smile as he looked down at her. She could feel that it was his answer for she noticed holding his arm for more than necessary. But she had to admit, both felt surprisingly nice, so she just returned the smile while still looking in front of her.

“Wanna another ice cream? Or coffee, yes coffee is better, right?” 

_He’s never turning off,_ Caitlin thought for herself at his adorable enthusiasm.

“Hot or iced coffee, it doesn’t matter, I’m in, what do you say?”

It was her turn to bump her shoulder with his and that was everything he needed to know her answer.

Her dad was right, sometimes, it’s okay to need other people and occasionally their help. HR was the living proof of that.

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The next one will be posted on Christmas Day, even though it's not themed and there won't be any kiss under the mistletoe. On this one, we appreciate any kind of feedback, either via kudos or comments. Until next time! <3


	10. Fifth And Sixth Wheel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, chapter 10 is here today. There's a five-month time-jump between this chapter and the previous one. We had so much fun writing it back in the day and we hope you guys enjoy it as well.

Gathering her things that she left in a break room, Caitlin headed towards the lobby of the hospital to check out. It was still early and she was looking forward to a movie night with Iris that they agreed on a few days ago.

Approaching the reception desk she spotted always cheerful Dr. Danvers, for her as one of her friends, Kara sitting there. It was one of her favorite changes recently, seeing a friendly face on her way out instead of her least favorite person in the hospital, and outside of it.

5 months passed since she boldly decided to turn a new page in her life. Also, 5 months since she met the man who easily became her friend. He was the primary reason behind her decision to fix her life and he was helping her with the said decision, even though he didn't know it.

She could say that she was enjoying these few months more than she did in the last year and a half. Drinks with friends and colleagues, family dinners at the West’ since Iris always keeps telling her that she’s a part of their family as well, even baby shower for one of her colleagues, Caitlin was proud to say that she didn’t spend any weekend alone and sad at home.

And through all that, their rendezvous never stopped. Sometimes she would get stuck at work, or he was in _the zone_ of what he was calling the sudden wave of inspiration, so they couldn’t meet, but, at least once a week, they would discuss their days over a cup of coffee.

And on top of all of that, Hunter wasn’t at work for the last week or so. She heard from someone that he just took the vacation, but she couldn’t care less – he wasn’t there, and that was the only thing that she should know and It made her happy.

She was almost done when two nurses approached the reception desk, and unintentionally, Caitlin heard their conversation.

“When do you think Dr. Zolomon will be back?” the short-haired one asked, and bit the cap of her pen.

“I hope soon, I miss seeing him here.” The other one smiled slyly, and Caitlin felt sick.

She was well aware of many nurses and female doctors swooning over him and calling him handsome but she never shared their opinion. It seemed like they considered wide shoulders and so-called macho style being a perfect man, and she could never understand that. Even before, when their relationship was still decent, not to mention after the incident.

She wanted to say something, to show them what kind of a man he really is, but she couldn’t. If she tells the truth, she will never hear the end of it, she will once again be the poor victim and they will look at her with pity.

This way, maybe he got out without a punishment, and she had to deal with seeing him almost every day, but at least nobody knew it. She knew that decision was actually bad, but she was not ready to face it.

Not wanting to be there any longer, she smiled at Kara, who seemed like she shares the same opinion as Caitlin by the look on her face

“I like seeing you here a lot more.” She said and Kara just smiled back in agreement, “I’ll see you Monday” and with that Caitlin left.

She was still in the parking lot when her cell rang, and when she retrieved it from her purse, she saw it's HR. 

_Odd_ , he’s almost always texting her, she thought as she swiped to the right at the green icon to answer it.

“Hey,”

 _“I wasn’t sure if you are driving since it’s the time you are usually going home from work, so I thought it’s better to call you than to text you..”_ he quickly explained, and she found it sweet how he was careful to not distract her while driving.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m still in the parking lot. What’s up?” she assured him.

_“I was bored and I was thinking what can I do, and then I remembered… There's this bowling alley that’s renovated recently, and I thought it’s a nice way to spend time and have fun. So, I was wondering, are you free to join me?”_

“That sounds really great, but I promised Iris we’ll have a movie night,” Caitlin said apologetically because she was really sorry she couldn’t accept his invitation, “besides, I’m awful at bowling” she giggled and there was no response from him

He spoke after a few seconds of thinking _“Yeah, I would never ask you to stand up to your friend, but.. why don’t you invite her too? Her fiancée as well, the more the merrier.”_

“Are you sure?” Caitlin still asked, but he reassured her

_“Yeah, I’ll see if a friend of mine can come too, it’s gonna be fun.”_

Caitlin really liked the idea and she already knew that the reporter’s answer would be 'yes' as well, but she didn’t want to confirm anything to him until she first talks with her.

“I will let you know when I come home and ask her, okay?”

 _“Sounds great.”_ HR agreed, but before he hangs up, he had something else to say _“Oh, and Caitlin, don’t worry, I’ll pick you for my team even if you are awful.”_ He said with a trace of teasing, but Caitlin made a mental note to make him fulfill that promise.

 _Ohh, he will so regret it_ , she thought for herself and chuckled after hanging up and entered the car.

\---

The couple left their car and joined Caitlin who came a few minutes earlier and was waiting for them at the entrance of the parking lot that belonged to the bowling alley.

Barry said that he used to come here with his parents often when he was a kid, but he didn’t visit it in years.

The place itself was pretty old, but the renovation that HR mentioned did an awesome job in hiding that since it seemed nothing but cool and modern. Even more when they stepped inside.

She spotted HR almost immediately - he was talking with a long-haired man that was turned with his back to them, as they made their way through the big room.

“There they are,” HR said cheerfully when they approached, greeted Caitlin first and then Barry and Iris before he proceeded to meet them with his friend.

“Caitlin Snow,” Cisco Ramon, HR’s publisher and friend he told her about a few times spoke, and made a small pause to look at Caitlin “..I’ve heard a lot about you.”

HR was immediately next to them. He knew that his friend was saying more than needed sometimes, so he decided he had to supervise this conversation…

Caitlin looked at HR and then back at Cisco “Oh really? And what did he tell you about me?” she smiled waiting for his answer, but instead HR started talking

“I told him that you are great and really, really smart, you know…” he scratched the back of his neck, which was a sign of awkwardness. Caitlin always enjoyed when he was acting like that, maybe a little more than she should.

“And beautiful,” the publisher added and she could swear that she could hear HR’s thoughts screaming at him _‘For the love of God, why?!’_

Oh boy, it looks like Cisco is a male version of Iris when it comes to her and HR’s relationship.

She felt a bit sorry for him because she knows very well how she felt that day in the park when Iris left them alone, but she still wanted to see what he’s going to say.

“Yes, beautiful too.” He confirmed, looking everywhere but her “I mean, that’s obvious, so I said nothing wrong..." He clapped his hands, "Are we going to play or not?”

He already took the ball, and Cisco changed the subject and he seemed so relieved “Man, it’s five of us, you know that we have to wait for Gyps-”

“I’m here, sorry I’m late,” the woman in her probably early 30s, dressed in a leather jacket joined them, and after she kissed Cisco on the lips quickly, it was more than obvious who she was.

“Guys this is Cynthia... Uhh, Gypsy” HR corrected himself after one look from the woman, who also preferred to be called by her nickname just like him “and these are Caitlin, Iris, and Barry”

After a brief conversation, and realizing that Barry and Gypsy actually know each other, since they both work for CCPD, only Gypsy is a detective and not CSI, everyone had the bowling shoes on, and the only thing they had to do before playing was to split in teams.

“So, how are we gonna do this?” Cisco asked and clapped his hands together and HR had only one thing to say

“However you please, but just know that Caitlin is in my team.”

“You really don’t have to do that” Caitlin laughed, remembering how she told him that she needs to fulfill that promise, but he had none of it

“Promise is a promise, and come on, you can’t be that bad.”

\---

“Okay, you are awful,” HR stated and burst out laughing alongside Caitlin after another horrible try. Although this time she did hit and crush one pin. 

“You can’t say I didn’t warn you” she answered and they proceeded to sit by the table as they agreed to pause and grab something to eat.

Barry and Cisco came with two trays of food and drinks while the others took their seats.

“Pretzel for Caitlin,” Barry handed Caitlin a paper bag with her food and then turned to Iris “Corn dog for my beautiful fiancée,” the reporter smiled sweetly in return before she hurried to unwrap the corn dog, Big belly burgers for HR and Gypsy and two French fries for Cisco” he cleared one tray and then sit before he put the other one in front of himself

“And Big belly burger, large French fries, and 2 churros for me.” He finished cheerfully and sat next to Iris.

“Dear God, how are you not fat?” Caitlin looked at her single pretzel and then at all of Barry’s food, being jealous of his obvious ability to not gain weight even from the 'junk' food.

“I’ve been asking him that for like, 4 years, and I still don’t have a proper answer," Iris put a big straw in her Coca-Cola cup and took a swig.

“I don’t know, I guess I have a fast metabolism.” Barry threw a few French fries in his mouth and the others, especially ladies still weren’t convinced.

“More like superfast. Or you have a tapeworm.” Caitlin added, the doctor inside her spoke without too much thinking and then all the eyes moved in her direction, Iris almost started laughing and Barry seriously disgusted and also worried.

“Guys, I’m so sorry, sometimes I forget I'm not in a group of doctors.” She knew that Iris wasn’t bothered with talks like that, but she felt really bad for maybe ruining dinner for the others and seriously freaking Barry out.

Thankfully, they all assured her they are fine and Barry swallowed before he asked her a question, his face now less disgusted but more worried “but do you think that’s really true, that I have.. _that_?”

“Nooo Barry, don’t worry, I’m 100% sure it’s not that, I didn’t even mean it seriously” but seeing he’s not buying it, she turned into her doctor mode “You would have nausea, abdominal pain, weakness…and you have none of that, am I right?”

Barry shook his head quickly a few times, and it was comical because he reminded her of a 6-year-old.

“That means you are fine, so please relax.” She laughed when his face lit up and he continued eating, the others joined in laughing like they were just waiting for it

“I told you she’s smart” HR stated, referring to her medical explanation which never ceased to amaze him, and now was no exception.

"So, how did you guys meet?" Barry asked the other pair of the table, trying to move on from the weird talk about his stomach.

“Oh that’s an interesting story," Cisco started, "HR?" prompting his writer friend to narrate this story. 

HR let out a sigh and started talking, "Okay, so..."

_Nine months ago…_

_Across town HR and Cisco were having a drink at one of the many bars, the choice of_ _place belonged to_ _the younger man. It surprised HR a bit, as it was unusually quiet and from the time he had spent with Cisco, he seemed to have a different taste._

_If you ask him, he was grateful that the atmosphere was lighter and a bunch of twenty-year-olds didn’t bust the place dancing in deep house beats playing in high volume. Once upon a time, he was definitely one of them, going to clubs for the one clear purpose that most of those people do. Now, he just wants to have a moment of relaxation with a dear friend. Did he get old? Did the divorce change his whole world? He couldn’t really answer. Sure he did change after his marriage but now being the first time he was alone in years made him believe that he was on level one all over again._

_The situation changed pretty fast though, as one drink came after the other and the man soon was having the third one. Fortunately, he had decided to go with gin and tonic that didn’t cause the famous alcohol side effect as fast as whiskey._

_HR was well aware of what Cisco was doing, and he didn’t really protest. He knew all about his five-month fresh break up after two years of marriage and other two of relationship. He wanted to be there for him, not to be alone all the time, he could only imagine how hard it would be for someone to deal with loneliness after years of companionship. It was a thing a nice friend would do. What HR did not know was that this was an attempt to get back in the market. He was a man, after all, he couldn’t celibate for the rest of his life. His friend was right; Maybe it was finally time to move on. Yet, nothing in him really believed it. He just pathetically agreed to it._

_“Okay, here’s what’s gonna happen. Since you are not doing anything by yourself, I give you 20 minutes to hit any girl from here,” and like that Cisco had just voiced a bet to him._

_“Did you really have to do that?”, HR couldn’t believe that he was challenged to do something like that. This was such a drastic way to make him get back on track and it was a bit unexpected. There’s not a ‘no’ to this so all he had to do was to find a lady, try to win her in such a short time, and apologize later, because he wasn’t planning on taking anyone home._

_“Bet is a bet, okay,” the writer said and his eyes started scanning the room. Taking a sip of his drink, blue irises look around in an effort to find his ‘victim’. He can’t exactly remember the last time he did something like that, but however this thing tonight turns out to be, it will test his powers. He might have charmed many ladies in the audience at his book signings, this, right here, right now, felt different._

_“What about her?” Cisco nodded towards the woman sitting alone on the left side of the counter, all dressed in black._

_“I swear if you have paid her to resist for twenty-one minutes...” the older man warned the one next to him._

_“My intentions are pure, good luck.”_

_With those words, HR swallowed the rest of his gin and tonic_ _all at once_ _, the burn down his throat pretty evident. He thought this might give him some kind of strength to do that._

_Walking towards her, he told himself to revisit his old seduction techniques and become a person he couldn’t recognize for the sake of the bet._

_He finally reached the woman’s spot and the first thing he noticed was her drink. Whiskey, it seemed double. If he was at home, he’d definitely have this and not the British-originated drink._

_‘She’s either drinking her sorrows, or she’s just finished a stressful job’ he thought before he spoke to her for the first time._

_“Hmm, whiskey, strong one..”, he made his presence known._

_“Look, I’m not interested,” her voice rough, a bit uncommon for a female._

_“If there’s a boyfriend, I’ll be gone in a flash, but something tells me that a woman like you wouldn’t sit alone if she had one.” He was honest with this, if someone was with her, he’d leave her to enjoy her night and the bet’s off. Her look at him though and her silence to that made his observations prove right._

_“That’s what I thought”, he agreed with his previous saying and took a seat right next to her. After a signal to the bartender, both of them had freshly poured whiskeys._

_“Okay, let’s start this properly, I’m HR,” he smiled at her and extended his hand for a handshake. The dark-haired woman didn’t return the gesture though. Instead, she decided to take a sip of her drink and HR brought his hand back to himself in defeat._

_“I know who you are,” she stated._

_“Huh, another fan,” the smirk on his face was visible._

_“Don’t flatter yourself, Mr.Romance.”_

_He laughed at the sound of her last words. That must have been a nickname for him being a romance writer that goes around the audience. He had never heard of that one before, as much as he interacted with the people who came at the signings._

_“Can I least have your name?”, he asked. He should know how to call her._

_“Cynthia,” she answered monotonically._

_He was looking at her, in an effort to find more about her. From the way she was dressed, the long black coat hung on the chair behind her back, matching her black shirt. His first guess was that she was a lawyer. He received nothing as a reply when he made known this thought of his. That indifference from her side was getting on his nerves a bit, but it didn’t matter after all._

_With a quick glance at his watch, he notices that his time’s running out, and he has to make his move. Before that he looks back at his friend, who tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, in a ‘act up’ way._

_Now it’s all or nothing. He had nothing to lose, right?_

_“You know, my place is nearby..” Something he cannot recall saying for a long time._

_“Listen, I told you I am not interested, you’re not my type,” Cynthia was clearly annoyed by now._

_Across the room, the writer’s manager was staring at the pair thinking how that would be good, sensing a laugh coming._

_HR lets out a laugh, “How can’t I be, look at me and my countenance!” going next level with his plan, as he started unbuttoning the buttons of his black shirt, a small silver chain hiding under it, making contact with his chest._

“Wow!”, it was all it could be heard at the table of the six friends. HR, Cisco, and Cynthia laughing harder than the rest, revisiting the incident provoking that reaction from them. The narrator and protagonist of this story, HR, could feel the level of embarrassment rising, remembering how he tried showing his chest for the final and maybe strongest card of his game.

In the meanwhile, Caitlin found herself amazed by how he proceeded to such a thing. Yet, if she really comes down to it, it was nothing weird, or out of his character even, as from the very start of their friendship he had made clear of his confidence.

“Here’s the best part,” Cynthia added and HR continued with the story. 

_“Alright, we go now”, the woman stood up._

_For a second he thought he did it. The experiment of seducing a girl after all this time seemed to be successful. “I still got it”, he murmured._

_Digging her hand inside her coat’s pocket, she took out a silver pair of cuffs and smirked._

_“Kinky...I like that”, a confident smile was all over his face._

Caitlin was in thoughts of how _her_ HR could say this. He was always so sweet and nice and yet, he hits on a girl at the bar like that. But if she’s being rational here, he was just completing a bet. Maybe that’s what she wanted to tell herself at the time. The day they met, the HR of the story, and the HR of the bookstore would be the same men. The one who’s talking next to her though isn’t. All those months of getting to know him proved to her that he was one of the kindest and sweetest people she’ll ever get to meet. He’s her only male friend and it would be a lie to claim that he made her feel uncomfortable. It was another side of him, but it didn’t scare her. After all, the detective, who was supposed to be offended by it, was still hanging out with him and laughing at his jokes, so he definitely made up to her for that behavior of his.

_But then she took out another object, her badge._

_“Now you know my job. I work for the law, just not the way you thought.”_

_HR stood there stupefied, he could never predict this._

“Nooo! You really cuffed him?” Barry asked.

The group was still laughing and Iris was curious about what happened next.

_“Oh no, abort!”, Cisco mattered from his seat and approached the now handcuffed HR. Once he was there, he tried to convince the woman to let him go and apologize for that, but it was vain, as all she told him was that he can come and pick him up from the precinct._

_After a couple of hours, HR had his hands free again, as Cisco paid the bail. Seemed like the least he could do after suggesting that bet in the first place. But who could have guessed that the woman would be one of Central City’s finest police detectives and that his friend would go to the next level that would piss her off that much?_

_“Take this pretty boy out of here”, she almost commanded Cisco._

_“Did you hear that? She called me pretty, I won!” HR exclaimed._

_“Yeah, and It only took you three hours and it cost me a couple of grants.”_

_Cisco knew that at the end of the day he had to give money, but not like this._

_Cynthia took the time to process the conversation between the two men, but she couldn’t help but ask,_ _“What are you talking about?”_

_“I don’t pick up girls like that, anymore. I am sorry for what happened there.”_

_“I can’t believe that I wasted my night because of your stupid bet!”, she was annoyed at how she ended up coming back at work when all she wanted was to take her time off of it._

_“It certainly wasn't a waste of my time,” Cisco was obviously flirting with her._

_Like she didn’t have enough of them and their flirting tonight… Yet, she was asked for a make-up dinner from the long-haired man and she said yes. She didn’t really know why her answer was positive._

_“Seriously? I got arrested and you got a date? Remind me to sign a contract with a new publisher on Monday!”_

_He took a moment to think how wrong this night could have gone and that Cynthia was actually nice and agreed even to date his friend. He came to an interesting conclusion though. Revisiting his old self wasn’t successful. Maybe he was out of practice, maybe he has changed. But in the end, he still dragged her attention, even if she put him behind bars for a while._

“So yeah, that’s how they met”, HR finished the story. A story that made Caitlin learn more about him and it was quite intriguing to find out.

The night progressed naturally, the parties were talking casually but there was still a bowling game they had to finish playing. The score didn’t change dramatically, HR and Iris’ throws weren’t enough to alter the outcome. Caitlin had started feeling a bit of a setback to her current teammates, but neither of them looked at her weirdly for not being able to have some pins on the floor.

“Okay, I can’t do this, you guys lost because of me!” Caitlin exclaimed while she was about to throw the purple bowling ball she was holding in her right hand.

HR, who was standing behind her made his way right next to the almost desperate player. Touching her shoulder, he was encouraging towards her.

“Come on, you got this.”

“I made it pretty clear by now that I don’t," she sighed.

“Listen to me… Relax and measure your balance. Bend your knees slightly, yeah, that’s right”, he said while she was following his words. He grabbed her right hand and positioned it backwards until her waist’s height, feeling his gentle fingertips on her forearm. She was enraptured by his blue eyes in a way she hadn't before and in doing so, she was sure she missed a part from his instructions.

“Now stop looking at me and focus on your target.”

“Okay,” her tone unusually low, with a trace of embarrassment that he noticed her being lost in staring at him.

“Do it!”

After a few seconds of locking her eyes with the pins at the end of the lane, with the right momentum, she let the spherical polyester object go off her hand, making its way to the six pins at the end. She felt like the time slowed down, watching the ball rolling, and rolling until…

“Yeess!!” she screamed at what sounded the top of her lungs as the pins were knocked down. Without realizing it, she ran towards HR and her previously thrown in the air arms of hers were placed around his torso, a huge grin on her face as she pressed on him.

Despite the fact that he was completely unprepared for this gesture from the shorter woman in front of him, he smiled back upon her happiness and enveloped her smaller frame right back. It took them a while to move away from each other and it wasn’t feeling awkward until they stared at each other’s eyes. 

“Those two won’t remain the fifth and sixth wheel for much longer,” Cisco said as he leaned towards his girlfriend as he witnessed Caitlin and HR's tight hug from distance.

“You know we’re still losing, right?” he joked, trying to fight the silence between them.

His words brought her back to reality, having studied his face for long enough for it to start being uncomfortable. “But I scored!”

He smiled again at her, “yeah you did” and his fingers let go of her shoulders, officially moving away from each other. Both of them found their previous seats, finishing their refreshments until they would all call it a night.

\---

It was approximately forty-five minutes later and after a few ‘Goodnight’ and ‘Nice to meet you’s to the rest of their parties when Caitlin and HR found themselves walking outside of their previous joint.

“Tonight was fun, we should do that again sometime,” Caitlin declared how she enjoyed the night and it was satisfying to him to know that bringing his friends over didn’t prevent her from that.

“Yes, it was and yes, we should,” he agreed with her.

“Although…” her tone changed “my mom did tell me to not hang out with criminals” she teased him, the ‘criminal’ term clearly used to describe him and the few hours he spent in jail.

“Be careful then, you don’t want yourself involved in things you cannot control,” he tried to sound intimidating but she seemed to have none of it, as she started laughing.

“Okay, don’t say I didn’t warn you afterwards!” he chuckled right back.

When they reached their car at the parking lot that was parked by coincidence opposite each other, she wished him goodnight, digging in her purse for her keys.

“Come on Dr. Snow, I think that we can hug goodbye by now”, he extended his right arm.

In any other case, she would have considered it, but she did the exact same gesture before, without any thinking, without any restraint. After all, the time they have spent together, all those months of knowing each other are only making the things between them better, that hugging him back in the bowling alley, came spontaneously and felt nice.

Without saying anything, she nodded and leaned in for the hug. Her hands made contact with his shoulder blade and his back. Both of them realized that it lasted longer than it should, but they didn’t back off until a car’s lights that was leaving the place blinded them.

“Next time we will win!” was one of the last things she said for the night, he hand on her Mini’s handle.

“If you say so,” his lips tugged up to a smile.

“I had a great teacher, remember?” she teased him for a second time since they walked to the parking lot area.

“Right back at you,” and he moved towards his car. 

To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks our last chapter for 2020. It had been an absolute pleasure for both of us to write this little story. A big thanks to all of you who have checked this up. It had been life-changing for both of us, as stupid as this may sound. We have laughed and fallen in love with them a plethora of times and it helped us go through hard times. Our friendship reached a whole new level and we created something we never thought we can. 
> 
> Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates today! See you next year!


	11. I like his writing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update in 2021. <3

It was another day at work. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing messing up her schedule. She loved when this happened, so she could come back home without any additional mental exhaustion. Like the last couple of months, she ended her shift with her favorite patient, Grace. She was well aware of how this sounded, but she just really liked this girl and she was privileged enough to call her her friend.

“Hey Grace!” her way of greeting her while entering the room was always the same.

“Hi”, the teenager replied. She didn’t make eye contact with Caitlin, seeming a bit indifferent. She was obviously focused on the book she was holding in her hands.

Deciding it’s better not to bother the girl, she proceeded to the typical check-up, her eyes scanning the led screen with Grace’s vitals, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen, and many more.

“What?”

“How?”

“Why would you do that girl?”

A bunch of reactions coming from Grace accompanied by the matching facial expressions drag the attention of the always-so-focused Dr. Snow.

 _It must be the book she’s reading_ , Caitlin thought. It wasn’t that hard to realize that. She smiled at how the girl was so into the story she had in front of her. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed happy reading this, even though it provoked all the questions she’s been asking for the last ten minutes that she’s in her room.

“Unbelievable!”, Grace let out in an almost upset tone.

“What are you reading anyway?” the doctor couldn’t help but ask her. 

Raising the book that was resting on her thighs in the air, so that Caitlin could see the front and back cover, she responded,

“Separated Lives”

Caitlin’s eyes immediately landed on the photo of HR on the one side. Writers tend to take sophisticated photos and put them on their books, somehow making them intriguing, but in his case, he was just smiling wearing a suit jacket on the top of a white button-up shirt. No looking far, far away, and not a school yearbook portrait either. She must say, she liked how he looked there.

Bringing herself to the present, she attempted to tease the girl,

“Aren’t you a bit young to be one of his fangirls?”

“Okay, he’s pretty, but I really like his writing.”

Caitlin found it interesting how a teenager would think that about his physical appearance. He was forty-something and it’d be normal for her to say that for a boy-band singer than a middle-aged writer.

“Which chapter are you at?”, she ultimately started bothering the girl, but deep down she wanted to have this small talk with her.

“I will start the ninth one. It’s a mess”, she sighed.

“Ohh, that’s the best part” and without realizing it Caitlin gave away her little secret.

“Wait…How do you know?” Grace couldn’t help but ask.

Caitlin felt like she was busted, but her reply came pretty fast,

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m a big fan too. Of his writing obviously! I mean, he’s pretty but I like his writing" Caitlin admitted, the words of her last phrase almost identical to the ones Grace used before. 

The other occupant of the room started laughing at her doctor’s rambling and when Caitlin realized what she said, she could feel her embarrassment on her cheeks. Looking at her right back at the girl, they shared the laughter. If she was being honest, the last couple of months that she has spent within the four walls of the hospital room, the specialist has been a more and more pleasant person to be with. Caitlin was friendly with her from the start and helped her believe that everything will be alright. But if she compared the Caitlin that stands right next to her with the Caitlin that she met her very first day here, apart from the lighter hair color, she was happier too. It was undoubtedly a great thing to witness.

She wished that they hadn’t met under these conditions and for Caitlin to be her English teacher or a woman living next door to their flat and not her doctor. She was grateful that she got to meet her though even if her job is to check on her and her problematic heart. Once everything was over, she hoped she got herself a new friend.

“Don’t hold against him the next one though!” Caitlin gave a small advice to the clueless reader that Grace was.

“Again, how do you know?” The girl felt like a broken record repeating the question she made not more than five minutes ago.

“He’s my friend.”

Caitlin realized that this was the first time that she called HR her friend to someone third. After all these months, it came naturally to describe him this way. Yet, there was a difference in believing it when she was meeting him over a cup of coffee and saying it out loud like this.

“You're pulling my leg! No way!” Grace gasped. It was exciting to hear that.

“Yeah”, Caitlin nodded to confirm her previous words.

“But… Is he your friend, or your _friend_?” Grace’s tone after the ‘or’ changed, underlining a different meaning in the word ‘friend’.

 _What in the world made her think such a thing?_ Caitlin silently asked herself.

“A friend, just a friend.” She also wondered how many more times she has to reply to this question like this. Grace was certainly not the first person who had this inquiry and the thing is she doesn’t know anything about the time she has spent with the man in question.

“Hmm, I see.” Grace made a show of scrutinizing her and then looked at the man posing on the back cover. “You’d look good together” she added with a smile and Caitlin couldn’t return the gesture, as she was left with an open mouth, which made the teenage girl laugh even harder in her successful teasing.

“Since when you are a matchmaker?”

“I don’t know, I like shipping people I guess.”

_Shipping? Oh no…_

“Okay, young lady, I’m leaving now!” Caitlin announced her departure from the girl’s room.

“Okay, say a ‘Hi’ from a fan to your friend!” her last two words voiced in a higher volume.

“Goodnight Grace” she smiled at her and closed the door.

That’s when an idea crossed her mind…

Right after her work ended, Caitlin hurried to the Jitters to meet HR. She always loved going to meet with him after a long day at work, but now even more.

She was actually very excited to tell him about the idea she got, and somehow she was sure he would accept it. She knows him well enough by now to be able to predict his reactions when it comes to certain things.

She could see him sitting at how they started calling it ‘their table’ even before she entered the coffee shop. 

Long legs stretched in front of him as he leaned back in a comfy chair, HR was focused on the phone in his hand while he was scrolling over the screen with his thumb. Not even a full minute later, Caitlin joined him.

“Triple shot latte, just how you like it.” He smiled sweetly and offered the mug to her after they greeted each other and she was seated.

“Perfect, thank you.” She took a sip immediately since it wasn’t too hot anymore while thinking about how to ask him what she wanted. But then she remembered that it would probably be the best to just say it, after all, it’s HR she’s talking to.

“I need a favor.” She sent him a kind of embarrassed smile, like she still wasn’t sure if he’s gonna accept it and HR smirked.

“Yes, Caitlin, I will name a character in my book after you if you insist.” 

At first, Caitlin was only staring at him with a weird expression on her face, not knowing how to react, and then, like always, she had to giggle and he immediately laughed with her

“I’m kidding. Tell me, what can I do for you?” he was more serious now, yet the look in his eyes was soft, and she could see how glad he actually was that he can help her with something

“You remember Grace? One of my patients, a 17-year-old who is waiting for the heart transplant?” she started and he nodded in agreement before she continued “well, during my daily check-up on her today, she was reading a book, and we had a brief conversation about it. Your book.” She pointed out at the end.

"Hmm... She has a nice taste, I can tell" he joked.

“HR, she had read all of your books. and the way she speaks about them... I don’t know, it‘s like I was talking with myself, you know?” he knew very well what she meant by that, after all, from the moment they met, Caitlin made clear what was the thing she appreciates the most and why she was his fan.

But he still wasn’t sure what she wanted him to do, so he asked her

“I was wondering… if, umm, if you can come, and meet her?” HR had to admit that he was surprised, somehow having trouble to see how would his presence make someone feel better or just, happier

“Are you sure, after all, I’m not _that_ famous,” he chuckled, jokes working like his self-defense mechanism, but it seemed like Caitlin already had everything planned and really wanted him there.

“She’s on the top of the list and there’s a chance she will get a new heart any day from now, but still..for at the moment, she’s just stuck in that room, waiting. But when I saw her today, while she was reading,” Caitlin paused to look at him “HR, even without knowing you are helping her get through the day, and I just know that if you talk with her only for a couple of minutes, it can only be better.”

HR was listening to her carefully, staying quiet until she finished what she had to say, and he was touched. His life was like stuck in the loop until recently, that he was doing everything so mechanically.

Trying to write, leaving it, going to readings and signings, waiting for the inspiration that doesn’t want to come… he almost forgot why he wanted to be a writer in the first place.

He wanted to write stories, every day’s stories that could happen to anyone, a movie star, football player, school janitor, or a tailor…stories about luck and fate and heartbreak and happiness, but each and every one of them had something in common – love and hope.

He wanted to create worlds where anyone can find themselves, and think how that’s a story about him or her. He could never be a doctor or inventor, but he found his way of somehow helping people. He didn’t have to change the whole world, but if he succeeds in giving one person something good, that was more than enough for him.

How could he forget it... But Caitlin was there to remind him that he can make a difference.

And if there’s the smallest chance that he can make a young girl smile a bit, he will do everything in his power for that to happen.

“HR,” Caitlin spoke again, feeling a bit uncomfortable that she still didn’t get the answer from him “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t ask you that, it’s not your job to..”

“No!” he suddenly interrupted her, because he realized what impression his silence left “I would be happy to do it.”

“Are you sure, I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Oh I’m sure, and you helped me realize it, so thank you.”

Caitlin wasn’t sure how she actually helped him with that, but she had nothing to complain about. Another ‘thank you’ could be heard, but this time from her – small and filled with relief.

They agreed to do it, now the harder part is in front of them…

\---

Two days later, he came to the King’s hospital at the agreed time. He was never in there, but he couldn’t really miss anything, so he just decided to text her that he arrived and waited.

Just a couple of minutes later, he saw Caitlin approaching him, with her white coat and files in her hand. He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading all over his face, as this was the first time he saw her in her full doctor attire, and she looked absolutely amazing.

“You are here.” was the first thing Caitlin said and then she smiled “Just on time.”

She just finished all her duties for the day with Grace and left the girl’s room where she was still reading the book, but she did mention that she is in the last chapter when Caitlin asked her how it is going.

Soon, they found themselves on the second floor, standing in the hallway in front of Grace’s room. HR glanced at her through the big window with opened blinds, as she was deeply focused on the book in her hands.

He smoothed his palms over the cloth of his black jeans before he took a loud breath in and turned around, looking like he was about to start pacing.

“You all right?” Caitlin asked calmly, careful to not speak too loud so that Grace doesn’t hear her

“Yes, I'm okay..No.” Came his a little nervous replay and she smiled, soft and sympathetically before she guided him to sit with her on the hallway chairs and asked him to tell her what’s wrong.

“I usually show up, read, sign, flirt, wink, and send a compliment here and there and that’s it. And here, we have a kid, an innocent, pure-hearted kid, who actually loves what I’m doing, and…” he looked at her, and it looked like he was already apologizing with his eyes “I’m afraid I’m gonna disappoint both her and you.”

“HR, I know that you can do this. If anyone can make a person smile, that’s you, trust me, I know from the experience.”

HR chuckled at her kind words, but then he tried to joke “Too bad you are not friends with Taylor Swift, bringing her here would be waaay better surprise.”

“I would still choose you.” She said without blinking, and while his intention was teasing, she was nothing but serious.

She really believed in him, and HR could feel it. He slowly got up, still unsure but determined to do it.

“All you need to do is,” she touched his shoulder gently, and she liked how natural it felt “..just be yourself. It’s gonna be perfect.”

His smile was sweet and warm when he turned his head to look at Caitlin. HR nodded, and seconds later followed Caitlin inside Grace’s room.

  


He could almost feel his blood boil. Denying him was one thing, he was sure that she would come around eventually, but bringing some guy here and acting like that was unacceptable.

Hunter Zolomon stormed out of the room right next to Grace’s not even flinching when he bumped into the young technician’s shoulder and caused him to stumble and drop the papers he was holding.

He was beyond angry and only one thing was on his mind – he needs to do something about Caitlin and her new ‘friend’.

  


To Be Continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we decided to give a sneak peek of some mess that's coming soon, after 10+ chapters of fluff, and we hope you will enjoy it.   
> Either way, let us know what you think, via kudos or comments since they are giving us the motivation to keep going. <3
> 
> See you soon!


	12. Fans and enemies

Caitlin entered Grace's room with a smile on her face, clearly happy with the little surprise she had planned for the girl. A very vivid one that was inhaling and exhaling not that far from her and she could witness his nervousness.

Why is he this nervous? She asked herself. For a second, she wondered if he was like that when he was about to meet his audience. He has done this numerous times, what was so different now?

“Hey Grace,” she said standing by the door, not stepping further in.

“Hi, Caitlin. What are you doing here? I thought we’re done for today.”

“Don’t worry, we are, it’s just… Are you busy?” she had to make sure she wasn’t bothering her by any means.

Grace let out a chuckle, “Are you serious? How busy can I be? I was reading.”

“Then I have a surprise for you.”

“What-”, but before she could finish her sentence a man showed up in the doorway.

“I wouldn’t actually call it a surprise, but it’s just that Caitlin was talking a lot about you and I wanted to meet you myself,” he made his presence known to the younger person and revealed himself as Caitlin’s surprise.

She covered her mouth with both of her hands, clearly in a slight shock.

“Mr. Wells? The HR Wells?” 

“You can call me HR. I’m not that old!” This phrase reminded Grace of the day Caitlin asked her the same when she used the plural number to talk to her, back on her first days in the hospital.

“Nice to meet you” he offered his hand to the girl, who quickly moved hers from her mouth to return the gesture.

“Great book choice,” he couldn’t help but notice the opened book on her thighs, one he would definitely recognize.

“Don’t tell me, ‘too much drama’, right?” his gaze traveled to Caitlin, who was now laughing at his question to Grace, remembering one of the first things she ever said to him.

“Umm, I wouldn’t say that… Well yeah.” Grace eventually agreed with him and ended this kind of monologue he had, as he was the only one speaking for the last few minutes.

For a quarter of an hour, Caitlin watched HR interact with Grace and she was amazed at how different he was but different in a good way; the tone of his voice while talking to her, his sequence of smiles, his kindness. It was another side of him, or, if she is being honest, it was just him, the same man she knows all these months, but in more depth. Right here, right now, she was getting to know him better.

Caitlin found his reaction priceless when Grace gave him a small notebook, the one in which she admitted she was writing her own story and was keeping it from everyone, but she wanted his opinion, as an experienced writer that he is. HR was utterly touched by how the teenager considered him this important and showed him something too personal for her because unlike him, she didn’t write for a living.

It was sometime later, that Grace and her doctor found themselves alone in her room like they are used to every day, without tonight’s special guest star, HR.

“You didn’t have to do this, you know” the girl sincerely said.

“I take it that you liked it?”

“Of course, how couldn’t I? He’s awesome!” she cheered.

“I am glad. I just wanted to do this for you. Both of us.” She was referring to herself and her friend who was waiting outside. It was bringing her happiness that she enjoyed the surprise she arranged for her. All the smiles spreading across her face, that’s all she needed to see.

“Thank you, this was so nice” and the two occupants of the room hugged one another.

“I was right” Grace voiced once they let go of each other.

“Right about what?” Caitlin was curious.

“You really look good together”, with a teasing tone, much similar to the one she had the last time she talked about her and HR being in a relationship.

“Not this again...” Caitlin didn’t want this talk to start again. Actually, she didn’t expect her to bring this up but thinking how she met HR earlier, it was making sense.

“Goodnight Grace” and she made her way to the door.

“Yeah, go to him, he must feel lonely waiting in the hall.”

Once outside, Caitlin joined HR with a smile on her face that wasn’t faltering, a product of the teenager’s teasing.

“How was it, Taylor?” continuing this little joke between them.

“By far the most pleasant visit in a hospital,” meaning what he just said. Especially after recalling the last time he was here… but he shouldn’t do this now. He mentally shook his head out of that memory and brought himself back to reality. He let her know how excited he was to read what Grace gave him and how moved he was by it.

“I just wish she would come to a signing, like you, for the circumstances to be different.”

“I know, but you made her day and I left her super excited.”

“I am happy I helped.”

They started walking towards the exit, both content about how this meeting rolled. A couple of steps in, he broke the silence between them,

“When does your shift end?”

“Ummm, I just have to leave some papers, take off the scrub and I’ll be done. Why?”

“We could go outside for a walk. Unless you have something better to do.”

She could swear that he said that in a playful way and she wasn’t able to hide the smile forming on her face, twinning with his.

“Let me think...” she made a show of counting the options she has. “Hmm, nope” turning to look at him.

“Then?”

“I’ll meet you outside.”

The talk with Grace and her reaction made HR proud of himself despite his draught period that still lasted. The way she spoke about his books after the initial shock and shyness passed, not to mention trusting him with her own beautiful creation a couple of days ago, helped him realize more than anything that he is indeed doing a good thing, even though some would just call it meaningless writing or easy money.

Meeting this lovely girl was actually one of the reasons why once again, he found himself in CC Jitters. Although, this time he was alone, and it should stay that way because Caitlin was busy after work. She said something about another maid of honor’s duty and he didn’t want to question it more.

So he was sitting, at their table, only this time in the company of his silver Macbook and a still steaming cup of coffee.

A few months ago, he thought of coming here to try and write a chapter or two instead of in the comfort of his home, but he never actually did it. Today was the day.

A bit chilly, autumn weather, few droplets of rain on the window, and the wonderful smell of fresh coffee beans…in HR’s opinion was the most perfect combination that a writer could imagine.

He took the first sip of his beverage after blowing in the steam a bit, moved his gaze from staring through the window and set the mug down before he finally opened the folder with his future book.

“Let’s go, buddy, Grace needs new material to read, and you have to fix the impression of the last one.” He thought to himself and his long fingers started typing on the keyboard in fast motion.

Approximately one hour later, the barista brought him another cup of coffee and took the empty one with her.

To his great surprise, words were just flooding and filling page after page, so right now he was in the middle of writing the second chapter for today. He definitely got in the ‘zone’ and he knew that stopping writing would be the worst thing he can do right now.

The story of his newest heroine, or how Cisco called her ‘cold lady’ recently got the main male character, and he was supposed to write their second interaction now.

_“ “Come on, you know I can help you.” He was persistent, not caring that she already denied his request two times._

_The woman put on a black ball cap that did almost nothing to hide her identity because of her beautiful and very recognizable, bright blonde, sometimes almost platinum-colored hair._

_“What are you going to do, sing them a lullaby?” detective Amelia Lang left out a cold chuckle and nodded at the guitar case that was secured on his back._

_Tonight he had a big performance in one of the most popular city clubs, and when you are trying to succeed as a singer-songwriter in a 5 million people city and you finally get your chance for the breakthrough, you are not letting it go for anything._

_Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to chase after the badass and short-tempered detective with the instrument still on his back, but when he saw her, he knew what she wanted to do, and he couldn’t let her do it alone._

_“No, but maybe I’ll sing one for you tonight if you take me with you now” Henry’s smirk was confident because he knew what effect it has on women, but she had none of it._

_“Keep dreaming pall” she already entered the car, and if his presence there and standing in front of the car didn’t bring too much undesirable attention, she would most likely leave him there “Get in you moron! Quickly!”_

_“Gee, there’s no wonder they call you Frost instead by your actual name” his words were serious, but his voice was flirty and teasing “But I’m gonna call you Frosty.” ”_

Before HR could write another word, someone’s voice caught his attention because apparently, the words were addressed to him.

“Hey, are you waiting for Cait?” he lifted his gaze unwillingly from the screen and met the person behind the voice. The blonde man was unfamiliar to him, but judging by his build he seemed like some bodyguard or security guard.

HR wasn’t really in a mood for talking, afraid that his inspiration would slip away, but still, he didn’t want to offend someone who possibly was Caitlin’s friend and knew him.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” he asked and the other man sat next to him without invitation or question.

“I’m doctor Zolomon, but you can call me Hunter. I work with Cait, maybe she told you about me?” he was smiling and talking nicely to him, but something was telling HR that there was more to this man, and it didn’t seem like a good thing at all.

A doctor? Now that’s a surprise, HR thought and lowered his laptop and shook his hand since he had no other choices

“No, not that I can recall, sorry,” HR answered sincerely and Hunter nodded a few times and then took the sugar from the table and sipped a generous amount in his to-go cup.

He looked at HR’s now closed laptop and sent him a grin that couldn’t be real since the smile didn’t seem like it was reaching his eyes “Came here to play a computer game?”

It took him a moment to answer, but then HR forced a polite smile and tapped a few times the silver electronic device with his fingers “This? No, I was just trying to get back on track and the atmosphere here seemed nice..”

He felt like he was in some weird questioning since this Hunter guy had question after question for him but the last one he definitely didn’t expect.

“Are you dating Caitlin?” the blonde said like it was the most normal question in the world, especially to someone you just met.

“I beg your pardon?” the writer coughed right after he swallowed the coffee, and took a second to see if this guy was serious. When he realized that he’s still looking at him, clearly waiting for his answer, he spoke

“No. We are just friends.” If earlier he was trying to be nice, now it was obvious that he just wanted this conversation to end.

“That’s a relief.” Zolomon said, and before HR could ask him why he already answered “You seem like a good guy, so I wouldn’t like for us to have problems...because you should know that she’s mine.”

To say that he hated the way how he was talking about Caitlin was an understatement. Like she was some item, so she belonged to him. Not to mention that what he said was beyond ridiculous, since HR knew Caitlin well enough by now to hear about some important people in her life, and Hunter Zolomon was never mentioned.

“I find that very hard to believe because I never heard about you, and I spend so much time with her, you know?” he leaned on the table, and the other man still had the same annoying smile on his face

“All you should be concerned about is to stay away from her, you got it?” Hunter stood up and clicked his cup with HR’s mug, and the writer just grinned at him

“Sure thing buddy.”

And with that Hunter left the coffee shop leaving HR alone again.

He was never short-tempered or impulsive. He knew how to fix things without any fight or crowd and this situation was no different. But one thing is sure – the first step is definitely talking with Caitlin about that.

He opened his laptop again, but it was obvious that the writing is over for today. Reaching for his phone, he started writing a message

“I would like you to try the best coffee in Central city. If you are free tomorrow?”

And he added

“I know the place ;)”

Caitlin’s fast reply came and he grinned immediately “Hmm, maybe you can pick me up from work, 4 pm, don’t be late ;)”

HR finished his by now half-cold coffee, packed his belongings and after putting on his jacket made his way to where his car was parked.

Despite the unwelcome encounter he had with the man who awfully reminded him of the villainous characters in his books, HR was happy. He wrote a nice amount of words today and he didn’t wish to delete any of them, and Caitlin agreed to meet him again, which was another proof to him that Hunter’s words made no sense.

And tomorrow, tomorrow will be even better.

Tbc...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's day you guys!  
> Not a themed chapter, but at least they are getting closer and closer :D


	13. Safe Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! We thought of ending this month with another chapter. A small heads up, this installement as well as the next two that we have ready will have Caitlin deal with a few not-so-pleasant things. But HR is here for her and it'll all get better, we promise.

He removed his sunglasses as he temporarily parked his car a few meters away from the hospital’s exit, the still warm October sun blinding him a bit on his way there despite the puffy clouds illuminating in their usual shade of white waiting for the sunset. This type of afternoon was one of his favorite parts of the year, the combination of colors of nature much to his palette preference.

But what made him like this particular part of the day was the person he was about to meet, Caitlin Snow, the woman he recognized from distance, her long soft brown locks were her signature by now, talking with a much taller blonde man who he could recognize as well. He had the luck (maybe that wasn't the exact word he would use to describe their encounter) to meet no longer than twenty hours ago, interrupting his writing process just the moment he could see himself finally progressing with his story.

Something in him raised his curiosity level and he wanted to confirm if anything of what Hunter claimed last night, about him being Caitlin’s boyfriend, was true. Not that he really believed anything of what the guy said, as by no means he did look or sound trustworthy, but observing him and Caitlin together would be the only way to find that out.

Doing this wasn’t right and he knew it. It felt like he was intruding on her life and disrespecting her privacy but she mattered to him too much by now. Otherwise, why would he be here, waiting for her so they can have another cup of coffee together? Why would he look forward to their meetings, their funny talks as well as the deeper ones? Why would he be curious of how her day at work was and excited to share with her any progress on his novel? Those questions were far from rhetorical. He knew the answer to them very well. Maybe it was too soon to say it, even to admit that to himself, but his feelings towards the younger intensive care specialist started changing. Perhaps it was stupid and totally wrong from his side to look at her that way, but he cared for her, a little more than a simple friend should. Hunter’s words the other day made him come to that realization and he wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it and in addition to that, a slight discomfort was ruling him over seeing her chatting with another man. 

There was something he didn’t like in that talk that was occurring before him. Caitlin’s body language was clear evidence of that. That was definitely not how a conversation between two people in a relationship should be. No, maybe they are having a rough time; he tried to think rationally for a second, but the latter was pretty fast crossed out of his mind. His instinct was telling him so and he trusted it. He learnt that from his family. That was what made him what he is now.

He saw Caitlin moving away from Hunter and it was time for him to finally get out of his car. She looked pretty annoyed; he couldn’t recall her seeing her like that before, not even the day a wave of bad luck washed all over her.

He leaned at the front of his car, feeling the warm surface behind his back as he watched her approaching him, her previous frown gradually turning into a smile and he loved a little too much that he had this effect on her.

“Hey” he talked first even if she was the one who was supposed to do that.

“Hey” her reply was identical to his, her smile at its full extent.

Before things started to get awkward between them he asked

“Shall we leave?”

“Yeah.”

“Get in.” He said after moving to the passenger’s door and opening it for her.

As he finished this small task he spared a second to glance over Hunter, who has apparently been watching them this whole time.

His facial expression, the look on his eyes, everything on that man was screaming that he didn’t have nice intentions. HR was not afraid of him, even though his physical appearance and his seemingly intimidating way of talking made him look like some kind of senior high school bully. Seeing Caitlin being tense by the conversation he just had with the doctor as much as she wanted to hide it, was only adding to him not being scared from his warning one day ago. A pure need to protect her started building inside of him and it wasn’t helping him regarding how he felt about the woman in question.

For a millisecond the gazes of the two men met and it felt like it was one of those hero-villain encounters in movies, but HR was not planning to let him get under his skin, not today or ever. He wouldn’t let him destroy his plans for a lovely afternoon with Caitlin and their progressing relationship in general.

He entered the car back again and once he put on his seatbelt and made himself comfortable enough for twenty minutes of driving, he started the engine.

Having driven a few meters away from the hospital's parking lot, a sweet silence built between them and he had forgotten to tune the radio in his favorite channel.

“Are you okay, what happened with that man?” he couldn’t help but ask in his oh-so-kind way.

She was caught a bit off guard with that question but it was no surprise after all. As it seems, he had been watching the little show between her and Hunter for some time and her endeavor to sound normal to him and stifle all the negative feelings that were provoked was vain after all.

“So, you saw that” she avoided looking at him, her eyes focused on random cars overtaking them.

“Yes” he let her know, or just to confirm that he indeed watched some of the talk she had with Hunter.

She couldn’t tell HR about him, at least not now. It wasn’t about the trust towards his person, but about how he would look at her afterwards, because she has had enough of people’s sympathy over the years.

“Everything's okay, he's just some guy from work” she finally turned around and forced a smile at him.

 _“You just lied to him, why? All he did was caring about you._ ” She heard her inner voice asking. 

“Okay” was all he said, his gaze focused on the road.

“Where are we going?” Caitlin inquired, trying to clear the atmosphere. In the meantime, she started to realize that the road was not familiar to the one leading downtown, at their favorite coffee shop.

“McAdams 183.”

“But… That’s not Jitters!” She voiced her observation after running a simple algorithm of comparing the road name he just gave her and the one she knew Jitters is located.

“Exactly” he chuckled at her way of reacting a few seconds ago at the sound of the street. She was cute, albeit he didn’t let that thought reach his mouth.

“I owe you a coffee. My coffee” the big secret of the destination they are heading to now revealed.

She remembers him promising her that he would show her his barista skills down the road, but she certainly didn’t expect that today would be that day. She liked the sound of that, they would change the environment, as much as they both loved Jitters and their usual window table there. 

Her mood shouldn’t get in the way of her and HR having a lovely afternoon together, especially now that he will take her at his own house.

“Drive the way.” She grabbed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she now adopted a more sincere smile on her face.

“As the lady commands.” 

After an approximately ten minutes long ride, they arrived at their destination, and Caitlin tightened her coat around herself a bit since a light wind started blowing. Not waiting anymore, because the car was already parked in its rightful place, HR led her inside of the building.

The doorman that HR called Rob greeted them politely with a sincere smile on his face and after a brief conversation between two men, they were already in the elevator on their way to the 9th and last floor of the building.

Caitlin didn’t expect the typical ‘single man’ place, or some minimalistic style, but she had to admit that she didn’t exactly expect to be this stunned by his taste either. In addition, she was one hundred percent sure that everything was his choice, because she just knew that he wouldn’t have hired any interior designer for help.

Characteristic for a loft, it was all one big room, nicely separated to the entrance, kitchen, dining area, and living room and she also noticed the staircase on the side, most likely leading to the bedroom, or bedrooms, because the place was spacious enough.

The brown and cream colors, with shades of black or white here and there, the electric fireplace beneath the TV, as well as many little decoration details, made her feel so safe and warm, just like everyone should feel at their own home. She could definitely see HR in this place.

After he took off his jacket and helped her with her coat, he hanged them in the closet that was right next to the front door, and prompted her to come further inside.

“Make yourself at home, the best coffee in Central City is coming.” HR said cheerfully, while he made his way to the kitchen and Caitlin slowly followed him after.

“It’s not easy to admit, but this really is better than the apartments downtown.” She pointed out and chuckled, teasing him about his remark regarding how the flats there suck. Except hers of course, as he said.

“It’s really wonderful, you have fine taste.”

“If the doctor approves..” he played along with her as he prepared the ingredients for her drink. He knew that she is a big fan of latte, but also he noticed on a few occasions how she enjoys cinnamon, so he included this aromatic spice too.

Her eyes locked on the large windows, and she instinctively made her way there. The view definitely didn’t disappoint. This part of the city was more beautiful, or maybe it was the fact that she was seeing it for the first time. That, alongside the early autumn colors created a very good image.

After a few moments of enjoying the view, Caitlin was about to move to the couch and sit there until he had their coffee ready, but something caught her attention – a huge bookcase that was covering a big part of the wall, with perfectly arranged books filling the shelves.

“As you are probably aware by now, I’m a maniac when it comes to organization and tidiness,” she looked at him over her shoulder from the other side of the large room as she was standing in front of the said bookcase by now “and this…this is actually very attractive!”

Her words surprised him a bit since he didn’t actually expect it, but he had to admit that he liked the sound of it a lot, but he did nothing to reveal it or to make her feel uncomfortable. He just smirked in return as he carefully cut the cinnamon stick

“Good to know that one of the ways to your heart is being well organized.”

“And the other is coffee, so I hope you know what you are doing there.” She teased him back and asked him if it’d be okay if she took a closer look at his books, which was something he couldn't possibly deny her. 

He really had a wide taste, as she discovered that he owned books of various genres and writers. 

His own books were in two rows, all nineteen of them that he had written by now and she was familiar with each and every of them since they were very similarly arranged on her shelf too as well as been read multiple times. Running her fingers gently over the titles on their sides, she paused, thinking how all this felt still somehow unreal. Standing in his home and examining his books, while he’s preparing a coffee for her… If she told her past self that she'd be a good friend of HR in the future, she would have laughed. 

Taking one side glance at him, she spotted him doing the said task carefully, a small smile never leaving his handsome face, as he was clearly enjoying what he was doing and she realized it’s not unreal at all. This is her reality now and it’s a wonderful one. Better than she would have expected. 

Not wanting to be caught staring at him, she brought her attention back to her front and the rest of his collection fascinated her as well – From the beautiful 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, through some classics like Dostoyevsky or Romeo and Juliet all the way to the solid Stephen King collection.

“I really like how you have literally every genre here.” She said a little louder because he just turned on the coffee machine.

“Well, I wanted to try everything and see what I like the most. Also, my mood plays an important role in what I choose to read. Sometimes you want something lighter, some others something deeper.” He explained. 

“But I’m really fascinated that you’ve read so many Stephen King’s books.” She said and then read a few of the headlines aloud. “Are you that brave or they are not too scary?” She made her way to the kitchen counter where he had already prepared two white mugs.

“They are great, that man really knows what he’s doing.” He complimented the books and the writer and then answered her actual question “And they are just horrors, but I’m not a child, come on Caitlin.” He chuckled and she joined him.

But then he froze for a moment, like he remembered something, “Although… Cujo was the first one I bought, and I was really cautious with my neighbors’ dog which also happened to be St. Bernard breed, for a couple of months.” 

“Thankfully, he’s not a blood-thirsty beast but just an oversized, fluffy cutie.” HR finished his ‘confession’ along with coffee, took the cups, and started walking towards the couch with Caitlin following him and giggling.

To say that his behavior was adorable and hilarious while he was waiting for her to try the coffee was an understatement because he was watching her with so much glee in his eyes that she had to laugh.

“You really think you will beat the Jitters coffee?” She was teasing him with one raised eyebrow while she was blowing the steam off and tried to ignore how tempting it actually smelled.

“Yes.” He replied with confidence, grinning without a trace of doubt on his face and Caitlin didn’t want to postpone it anymore so she took a generous sip.

Without thinking, or trying to stop herself, she left out a loud moan of satisfaction because he was right! Perfectly balanced and mixed, sweet and strong at the same time, with a wonderful scent and taste of cinnamon… He was so damn right!

“Oh my God!” Was the only thing she said but it was enough.

He managed to not choke on his own coffee when he actually heard the sound she made, but he had no power over the small blush that spread across his cheeks and also the very weird sensation in his stomach. Thankfully, she was so busy enjoying the hot beverage to notice anything.

In the end he only went with a “Yes, I know I’m good” accompanied by a huge smirk on his face, and before Caitlin could say anything to his clearly double meaning statement, he added “In making coffee, obviously!”

“You are impossible.” She burst out laughing, and it was music for his ears because it meant she didn’t get him wrong and proved that they came a long, long way from where they started.

“But I’m gonna forgive you, because this is not only better than Jitters, it’s the best coffee I ever tried!” She finished and he was nothing but proud, with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Are you born with this unusual talent or it came from another book research?” She asked him half joking, but also, she really wanted to know.

“I just love coffee. A lot.” HR laughed, “I mean, just imagine a world without coffee!” 

A couple of minutes passed in comfortable conversation before Caitlin’s cell rang and she excused herself so she could take it since it was from work – more precisely from Grace’s main doctor.

Coming back to rejoin HR, she had a serious look on her face and he instantly got worried,

“Caitlin?”

“Grace will have surgery in two days, they found a new heart.” She said and smiled and then laughed, not being able or wanting to hide her happiness and he joined her. 

Caitlin explained to him that there was a case of a 23-year-old man who was fatally injured in a car accident a few months ago, living with mechanical support and the possibility of waking up from the comma was hard, if any, whose family agreed for him to be a donor. And sadly he passed away not a long time ago.

So, with Grace being first on the list who was actually compatible with him, the decision for her to get his heart was made.

The longer people wait for the transplant, the more their hopes are fading, end even though Grace was holding on like a true hero, Caitlin knew how hard it was for her, so this news was the best thing she could hear, because the young girl will finally get the life she was always supposed to have.

Seeing HR equally happy made her own heart full, thinking how great he was as a person, as he was caring for Grace after having met her not long ago only once and his next words confirmed that to her.

“I can’t wait to visit her when all that ends and give her back her notebook.” He mentioned her beautiful project, and Caitlin asked him how is it so far

“To say I’m very pleasantly surprised is far from enough. Of course, there’s a need for some small improvements, but the work itself is amazing. I don’t know what I love more, her style of writing, the actual story, or the message it sends, truly great, especially for a 17-year-old.” He walked to the kitchen and brought a glass of water with ice inside for each of them while he was talking about Grace’s story.

He was so committed, Caitlin thought. Grace trusted him with something that was very important to her, and he was doing everything to prove that she didn’t make a mistake. If she had any doubt about him caring for her young patient, now it was crystal clear that he really does care. About a girl he just met and her feelings. That just shows what kind of a man he is.

And she lied to him.

The voice from earlier was back, and it seemed like it was stronger and louder.

All these months of their meetings, hangouts, walks, and coffees, the enormous thing he did for her by coming to the hospital, and many others, from his little messages when she was at work asking her for her wellbeing all the way to buying her ice cream at the park, it all was equal his care. He always wanted her to be okay. And when he questioned her earlier about it, all she did was to lie to his face. He didn’t deserve that. He was her friend, and today she realized that he is someone she wants to share this particular dark moment of her life with.

“I’m just glad that everything will be okay now.” He said regarding Grace’s surgery after he drank one-third of water from his glass, but when he got no reply, he spoke her name, but the answer wasn’t exactly what he expected.

“I lied.” She said so simply, and HR was clearly confused.

“What?”

“Earlier today, in the car, when you asked me if everything was okay after you saw me talking with that man. I lied.” She said without looking at him, too nervous or maybe even embarrassed to look him in the eyes. “But, I would like to tell you now, if you want to hear that story.”

“I know that you did.” Caitlin slightly flinched at his words, but when she finally met his eyes, there was no judgment in them. His blues were still warm and bright, and it made everything much easier for her.

Yet, she still wanted to know how he was already aware that she lied. But before she could ask him, he already answered.

“I’m really good at reading people, and you were too angry and tense, and too ‘not you’ while talking with him. Also, when I asked you about it, you sounded so differently and I was sure that something’s wrong.” He was calm while explaining it to her, and she was amazed at how good he already knows her.

“But why didn’t you say something?”

“I don’t want to push you into anything. I wanted to believe you will tell me when you are ready, and I was right.” His smile was encouraging, as he turned to look at her fully “I’m listening.”

Caitlin took a sip of cold water, to stall or to try to compose herself, or maybe a little bit of both. She placed the glass back on the table, took a deep breath, and looked at him again, before she started talking.

“It all began a few months after I started working at the hospital, when Hunter, the doctor you saw approached me for the first time. I was already dating someone back in the day…” Caitlin started confessing the story that only one other person knew. She and Iris decided to not mention it again because Caitlin felt like that’s the best way to forget it. And now, she’s sharing it with someone else after so much time. She's sharing it with a man, with her friend, HR…

He was angry after hearing her traumatic story. In fact, he was beyond angry, he was furious. He hated violence but that moment he wanted to make that guy pay for what he did to her. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Zolomon decided to go further and do something horrible to her after she denied him.

And there she was, holding like a hero all this time, even now while she was confessing such an important and sensitive matter to him. She is so nice, caring and gentle, and yet stronger than anyone could imagine. She’d been through something like that, and yet, she kept going, fighting her battle alone, never asking for help.

From the way she was talking, he could feel that there was more, so much more beneath all of her layers, just waiting to reveal itself. But, everything at its time. Right now, he is at the first chapter of discovering the true Caitlin Snow, without any mask or protection.

She was baring herself to him, and it was the most intimate connection he experienced by now, even without a single physical contact. It made his newly discovered feelings towards her even stronger and clearer, and all he wanted to do is to protect her. To make her feel completely safe and loved again.

“You probably think I’m crazy for not saying anything, but I.. Everyone would look at me with pity, and I couldn’t go through something like that. Not again.” She said the last part almost inaudible while looking at her fingers, and he was wondering what hurt her so much. What caused her to build this ice around herself…

“Caitlin. I don’t think you are crazy, far from that, I admire your strength. I can’t even imagine how that felt for you, and how you still feel for seeing him every day, but I understand your decisions. You did it to keep your sanity, and that’s a rational choice if you ask me.” 

A small part of her ice melted and became the tear that was about to fall from her eye while her lower lip trembled at his words.

He didn’t expect that he would actually ever see her cry. He didn’t want her to cry unless it was from happiness, and he definitely didn’t expect that that one tear would sting him this much, but it did.

She did break down eventually, but she didn't care. For the first time, she was okay with showing her weakness to someone. 

All her thoughts suddenly stopped and Caitlin froze when she felt his thumb reaching gently for her face and brushing off the tear that was now streaming down her cheek.

She could tell that he was unsure as his gaze lingered at her a little more than it should. He wanted to choose his next words wisely. 

“I can survive the annoyed or angry you, even when your rage is pointed at me” he smiled a bit, and she actually chuckled at his words “but the sad you, no, I can’t stand it, especially because of something, someone that’s not worth a single tear of yours. I know what he did was horrible, but look at you, you're here talking about it. Don't let it have power over you. Not anymore.”

She didn’t think about it longer, the smile just spread over her face through tears and she hugged him. It was spontaneous and still new to them, but this moment, it didn’t look or felt like that.

He heard her whispering ‘thank you’ close to his ear but there was no need for it and he made sure she knew that. 

“I have to say something too.” 

He told her carefully about his encounter with the man in the Jitters and everything that happened there when she calmed down a bit. He could assume it will upset her, but it was the only fair thing after she opened up to him. He didn’t want to keep any secrets between them, especially when he now knows that they were dealing with a dangerous man. 

A part of her was a bit scared, but a bigger one was angry, because Hunter dared to still meddle in her life after everything and she had no idea how to solve that problem.

But HR did. From the moment she told him the whole truth, he knew that he wants and needs to do something about it, and he will. For now, he only asked Caitlin to not mention anything, something she agreed after some serious convincing and reassured her that everything will be okay.

Thinking how it was time to bring the smile back to her face, HR went to the kitchen again, and her gaze followed him with curiosity when he opened one of the cabinets and took a medium-size white box.

“I know they are not from Jitters, but I hope that these from the bakery will do too?” He offered her a box full of muffins. 

“Raspberry-white chocolate, double chocolate, and your favorite, blueberry.” He remembered her preferences for both coffee and muffin, Caitlin thought and bit her lip in order not to grin too wide, but she failed.

“Thank you, they're perfect.” She said and then added “And you are amazing.” 

He smiled down at her sincerely in acceptance of her compliment, before he placed the box with the bakey on the table and walked to the TV which was placed opposite of the couch she was currently sitting on.

He searched through some of the elegant cabinets there and asked her a rather unexpected question. 

“Tell me, which part of Harry Potter would you like to watch now?” he said and he revealed the hidden DVD player under TV before he returned to searching.

“Wait, you actually still have a DVD player? Wow.” She laughed and he pretended to be offended. 

“Hey, I was collecting these movies for years! I would rather die than throw them away!” he moved to the cabinet on another side, as Harry Potter movies probably were there.

“Have you heard about Netflix?” she was obviously teasing him, and he gave her a look. 

“You know, once upon a time there was no Netflix and we were all waiting for DVDs, and you just wait, Miss "Have you heard about Netflix?", these will be very worthy one day.” He was talking like he was a million years old, and she burst out laughing again when he said how he'll make a fortune out of them. 

“Ha, there they are!” he exclaimed when he found the ones he wanted.

“You didn’t answer my question about what Harry Potter movie you want.” He turned around to face her with only one in his hand “My personal favorite was always...”

“The prisoner of Azkaban!” they said in unison and he put a hand over his chest with his mouth slightly open. 

“I like you even more now!” he grinned before he gave her the DVD box and ran to the kitchen again announcing he was off to make them another two cups of coffee before they sit and enjoy the film. 

She felt relaxed and happy all over again and HR was the reason for that. All pain from the trip down memory lane was almost gone now. Even more when the smell of wonderful coffee and soundtrack of the movie enveloped her senses. 

HR sat next to her, prompting her to come closer through his usual teasing and softness, and she actually did it, not overthinking anything, because today she realized that he is more to her than she thought. 

When he later touched her shoulder gently with his own and smiled again, Caitlin felt different. She felt warm and safe. He grew to be her safe place, and she loved the sound of that. And even more the feeling.

To Be Continued… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any Harry Potter fans here? Fyi, one of us hasn't watched a single movie from the franchise and doesn't really intent to, lol. *hides*
> 
> Anyway, what did you think of this chapter and snowells coming closer? We welcome any kind of feedback. Until next time! <3

**Author's Note:**

> If you feel like it, tell us what you think, it's appreciated.
> 
> More coming soon. :)


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